Saturday, March 28, 2015

The Sprouted Kitchen BOWL + SPOON by Sara Forte / photographed by Hugh Forte

I don't remember ever being as excited about a cookbook as I am this one. Sometimes you bring them home and look through and think, yeah this stuff looks good but I'll never make it (like the recent salad book I posted about--looks good but I'll probably never use it). Then you get one like this Bowl + Spoon and you really do want to make everything in it and you find yourself running to the store to grab up the ingredients (I find it best to just bring the book with me, open to the page of whatever it is I want to make). 
Not only are the recipes real food that I would actually eat and feel good about serving to my family, but the pictures in the book are stunning.
In reading about the author and her family we are introduced to her photographer husband and it is through his lens that we see the food and other pictures. 
This is real food with real ingredients. And I would eat almost every one of these. I'm taking this book to the store with me this week.
Look at this food





This book was provided for review by Blogging for Books

Thursday, March 26, 2015

All Mascara is not Created Equal by Jessica Landmon

This is the cutest little book. Page after page of little sayings and darling pictures. All Mascara is not Created Equal by Jessica Landmon would be perfect to leave in the powder room, on a coffee table, to give to a friend, or as a hostess gift. 
Here are a couple of the cute sayings:

It's not just sayings like those though, it's also filled with advice from the Bible. 
It's a small book, perfect to leave in the car for when you need a pick-me-up or to tuck into a bouquet of flowers for a friend going through a tough time.
These little words of encouragement can brighten someone's day. I love it!

This book was provided for review by PR By the Book.

Check out the author and her ministry Women Get Real here.

Monday, March 23, 2015

The Legacy by Dan Walsh & Gary Smalley

The Legacy by Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley is the fourth and final book in their Restoration series. This time around we focus on Doug's story. This was probably my least favorite of the four books, I didn't like how quickly everything was wrapped up and ended. I wanted to engage with the Anderson family a little more, it seemed like they needed a way out and Doug's story with the shocking conclusion took care of that. 

About the book:

Doug Anderson has been drifting slowly but steadily away from both his family and his faith. His parents, along with Christina, a young woman taken into the family during a crisis pregnancy, have been trying to reach him before he falls too far. But sometimes you have to hit bottom before you’re ready to grow up and give your life over to God. Christina’s feelings for Doug have been growing, even though he writes her off as not worth his time. Will Doug’s own crisis finally clear his vision and help him focus on what he has right in front of him?

This book was provided for review by Revell. 

Salad Love


Salad Love by David Bez is a beautiful book filled with 260 of the healthiest salads you can imagine. Every salad is pictured, which is always a plus when I'm looking for a new cook book.  They are full of fun and healthy ingredients. What I appreciate most about this book though is that each salad gives you other options. Don't want meat? Then simply follow the vegan option. This actually doubles the amount of recipes in this book to over five hundred.
There are salads for every taste. Want seafood? It's in there. Want grains? You'll find plenty.
This is also separated into four sections, according to the seasons and what is fresh for each one. 
If you want to eat healthier then check this book out. Don't these salads look amazing?
There is also a dressing included to compliment each one.
This is definitely my kind of book.




This book was provided for review by Blogging for Books

Sunday, March 22, 2015

How to Catch a Prince by Rachel Hauck

Rachel Hauck is back with her third installment in the Royal Wedding series. How to Catch a Prince was as beautiful a love story as the first two, if not more. This one captured the beauty of not only the love between a man and a woman, but the love between people and God. The love story of God and Corina and of God and Prince Stephen was stunning. The author writes with the knowledge of someone who has experienced this love first hand. A human heart seeks for love and sometimes doesn't know that the love it needs is not found in earthly things. This was a beautiful story.
I love a book by this author, I always know that it's going to be a clean read and one that will fill my thoughts with pure glimpses of romance and love.
I highly recommend this book and the entire Royal Wedding series. You will not be disappointed.

From the back cover:
American heiress Corina Del Rey caught her prince once. But the tragedy of war kept  her too long in a fog of grief. Now she's shifting her life forward, reigniting her career as a journalist. Still, nothing can relieve her of the secret and the love she carries in her soul.
Prince Stephen of Brighton is one of the world's most eligible bachelors and a star rugby player, trying to make sense of his life. But his days in Afghanistan with the Royal Air Command have marked him forever. And he can't seem to shake their dark shadow.
But when his brother, King Nathaniel, confronts him with a document the prince thought long buried and forgotten, Stephen is forced to face the pain of his past and the love he left behind.
With a little heavenly help, Prince Stephen and Corina embark on a journey of truth. But when secrets are revealed, can they overcome and find love again?

This book was provided for review by LitFuse.

Friday, March 13, 2015

The World Needs More Love Letters

The World Needs More Love Letters - All-in-One Stationery and Envelopes, by Hannah Brencher is the cutest blast-from-the-past that I've seen in a long time. I used to use this kind of stationery back in the 80s when the world was a better place. 
Simple to use, just tear out a patterned sheet (there are many to choose from) and write your note on one side and then fold and seal with the enclosed stickers. The other side has a spot for the addresses and the stamp.
Can't think of anything to write? The creator of the book has a list of forty ideas to get you started, they are on the inside of the covers.
This is an adorable item, would make a nice gift for someone who is going away to college, a couple that's going to be separated for a while, or anyone who feels like being nostalgic and writing a real letter. Nothing will ever take the place of a real letter. Remember how good it felt to find a note addressed to you in your mailbox? Share the feeling!



This book was provided for review by Blogging for Books

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Inspiralized


Inspiralized by Ali Maffucci is a cookbook completely themed on the new vegetable spiralizers that are everywhere right now.
I was thrilled to gain a copy of this (from Blogging for Books) to review as I am the proud owner of a vegetable spiral thingy.
I wasn't as impressed when I got the book though. It seems as though I could almost do better on my own. Many of the recipes are things that I wouldn't consider healthy to eat. Many are also things that you don't really need a spiralizer for.

I really don't see myself using this book at all. I think I'll do better on my own and will make healthy meals with raw vegetables with my spiral tool.


Saturday, March 7, 2015

One Last Thing by Rebecca St James & Nancy Rue


One Last Thing is the latest collaboration from Rebecca St James and Nancy Rue, and is their best so far. I read this book in a day, and I was crying by the second chapter. This is a heavy, deep read and it exhausted me, trying to process the emotions that the characters were feeling weighed heavy on my heart. But I loved it.

This book is not for everyone, it deals with topics that are far too real and might be too much for some readers. If you have been in a relationship that was damaged by pornography then I would recommend not reading this book. It could bring up your past.

The reality of it broke my heart. Pornography is a huge problem and this book details how someone may fall into it and what a lasting impact it can have on them. If you think that pornography is no big deal then I urge you to read this book.

It is an important book and I think that it could help a lot of people.

From the back cover:
Tara had always imagined her happily every after. But her fiance's secrets are changing this story into on she doesn't even recognize.

Tara Faulkner and Seth Grissom grew up next door to each other in Savannah's historic district. Their parents are best friends. They finish each other's sentences all the time. Their fairy-tale wedding is a foregone conclusion...until Tara discovers another side to Seth three weeks before the wedding.

Reality has crashed in on Tara's fairytale--but hope will lead her to a future she couldn't have planned for herself.

This book was provided for review by BookLook.


Thursday, March 5, 2015

After a Fashion by Jen Turano


I can't tell you how much I adored this book. After a Fashion is the first I've read of author Jen Turano, and I can assure you will not be the last. I don't know the last time that I enjoyed a book this much. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it truly made me shocked when an unexpected plot twist erupted towards the end. This, right here, is what other books aspire to be. The characters came alive and I even visualized Buford the dog. Truly wonderful reading and I recommend this book so highly that if you can only buy one book this year, I say make it this one. 

From the back cover:
Miss Harriet Peabody dreams of the day she can open up a shop selling refashioned gowns to independent working women like herself. Unfortunately, when an errand for her millinery shop job goes sadly awry due to a difficult customer, she finds herself without an income.
Mr Oliver Addleshaw is on the verge of his biggest business deal yet when he learns his potential partner prefers to deal with men who are settled down and wed. When Oliver witnesses his ex not-quite-fiancee causing the hapless Harriet to lose her job, he tries to make it up to her by enlisting her help in making a good impression on his business partner.
Harriet quickly finds her love of fashion can't make her fashionable. She'll never truly fit in Oliver's world, with its fancy dinners and elegant balls, but just as she's ready to call off the fake relationship a threat from her past forces both Oliver and Harriet to discover that love can come in the most surprising packages.

This book was provided for review by Bethany House.