"Winning Balance" by Shawn Johnson

I have had a love for Shawn Johnson for many years watching her during her gymnastics career that brought her from a little girl growing up in West Des Moines, Iowa to her quest for gold at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. After the Olympics we cheered for her on the road to winning the Mirror Ball Trophy on Dancing With the Stars! Here in the Midwest we still catch glimpses of her smiling face on commercials and on cut-outs in our local Hy Vee grocery stores.....we were disappointed when a knee injury kept her from the 2012 Olympics. We love her spunky demeanor and infectious smile. So you can imagine that I was excited to get her book "Winning Balance". It was a joy to get a "behind the scenes" look into her life as a gymnast. Her passion for the sport, the love for her family, and her faith in God are brought to life in this book. It is an honest look at what she went through during the many years of training. Parts of the book were a bit slow......perhaps relating more to a teen reader. I definitely recommend this book.

I was given a copy of "Winning Balance" by Tyndale Publishing in exchange for an open and honest review.

"Here's Lily!"

I was excited to recieve the book "Here's Lily!" the first in The Lily Series by Nancy Rue. It is a delightful book geared toward the 7 to 11 year old girls in your life. It is the story of Lily who is a normal, awkward 6th grader who has problems with certain kids in her class who tease her. Lily thinks that her Mom pays more attention to the Soccer Team that she coaches than she does to Lily. When a local modeling agency rep shows an interest in her she is hoping that this might be a way to show Shad Shifferdecker that she is beautiful and her Mom that she is important! The lessons she learns in the modeling sessions give her a boost to her ego, but right before the big Fashion Show her face is burned in an accident and she wonders why God would let this happen to her. She doesn't think she can go through with the show, but she finally realizes that what is important is how she looks in God's eyes. She does take part in the show and in the end learns that she is beautiful and important, no matter what others think. A great lesson for young girls to learn!

I was given a copy of this book by Thomas Nelson Publishing Co in return for an honest review.

Camy Tang is one of my favorite authors and her latest book "Protection for Hire" did not disappoint! It is Book one in her Protection for Hire series and it's a great, fast-paced mystery. The main character is Tessa Lancaster, a one-time member of her Uncle's Japanese mafia in San Francisco. After serving time for a crime she didn't commit she is now hiring out as a bodyguard. Along with lawyer Charles Britton they try to keep her first client alive. Both Tessa and Charles have family members who unwittingly get caught up in the excitement and as the story progresses, so does the relationship between Charles and Tessa. Along the way Uncle Taruo continues to pressure Tessa into coming back to work for him and she is torn between her committment to her family and her new found committment to Christ. A little bit of humor, some romance, and lots of twists and turns make this a fun read. I highly recommend it!

I was given a copy of "Protection for Hire" by the Author in exchange for an honest review.

Great Suspense Novel

I have wanted to get ahold of one of Lis Wiehl's books since I first heard of them so I was thrilled when I saw her book "Heart of Ice" on the list of books I could review for Thomas Nelson. I must say that I wasn't disappointed! I loved the way the characters interacted and the story-line keeps you reading. This is the 3rd in her Triple Threat series and there are three charming main characters Allison, a Federal Prosecutor, Nicole who is an FBI Special Agent, and Crime Reporter Cassidy Shaw. Each of them are trying to figure out who the "Want Ad Killer" is.....and they would never have imagined that it is someone they have each come to know in their personal lives. And even though it is pretty clear early on who the actual "killer" is, it is written in such a way that it keeps the reader involved and wanting to see what is going to happen next. The killer has a way of charming and manipulating the people in her life and convinces them that they MUST carry out the murders for her. One murder leads to another and she thinks she is getting away with it until things start fitting together in the investigation. If you enjoy a good suspense that keeps you reading.....I recommend this book!

I was given a copy of this book by Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest review

Great Book for Little Girls

Princess Stories by Carolyn Larsen is a wonderful book for Young girls. First of all the book is about Princesses....what little girl is not going to love that! The Author gives a brief story about each of these women of the Bible including Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth,The Shunnamite Woman, The Woman at the Well,Esther, Mary the Mother of Jesus, and more. The stories go in order of the women's appearance in the Bible and shows connections between some of the women. After each story there are 3 questions about the story that the child is encouranged to answer. The first question is about the woman in the story, the second question encourages the child to relate the story to her own life, and the third lists a Bible verse for them to read and then asks how that verse relates to the theme of the story. For instance in the story of Hagar the 1st question is "How did Hagar know God had not forgotten her?" and the followup asks the child "How can you know that God has not forgotten you?" and the verse is Isaiah 44:21 "I, the Lord made you and I will not forget you."..and then asks "What does this say about God remembering his children?" The final story is about "The Special Princess"...the young Girl reading the book. And on top of the great content of this book, there are beautifully bright colors and gorgeous drawings of the Bible Princesses. This is a wonderful way to give young girls good images of women to use as role models. If you have any little girl in your life....give them this book!

I was given a copy of this book by Tyndale Publishing company in exchange for my honest review.

NLT Facebook page giveaway!

Dear Friends,
Wanted to let you know about a great giveaway happening over at the New Living Translation Facebook page.
Here are the NLT Facebook page giveaway details:

From today until December 24th at the New Living Translation Facebook page we're giving away lots of great prizes and something free for you just for singing up.

By visiting the giveaway entry page (located on the NLT Facebook page, the link is under the profile picture) and entering your name and e-mail address you'll be entered to win the following prizes:

One random person each day will win a Life Application Study Bible Family Pack (Guys Life Application Study Bible hc, Girls Life Application Study Bible hc, Student's Life Application Study Bible hc, Life Application Study Bible hc, Life Application Study Bible Large Print hc).
One Random person each week will win an Apple iPad 2!
Everyone that signs up gets a free download copy of the Life Application Bible Study – Book of Luke!

The Realms Thereunder

I just finished reading The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead....it took me much longer to read this book than it normally takes and I was so happy to be done with it! I absolutely could not get in to this book....it had a crazy story-line and just did not make sense to me. The main characters have found themselves in a different dimension and while trying to figure out how to get home they run in to all kinds of strange characters and obstacles. The idea sounds like a good story-line for a book...but I wasn't impressed with the way it was written. There were way too many characters and they basically all did the same thing over and over....there was much too much killing and blood....and the ending left you thinking that there will be another book where the main characters Daniel and Freya will do the same thing for another 300+ pages! I did get a little enjoyment out of the chapter with the gnomes and he did throw a little mystery into the last chapter...but other than that I did not enjoy the book. I'm sure that there are people that would enjoy this book.....but I cannot recommend it.
I was sent a free copy of this book by Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for my honest review.