Gilt Hollow

    

Hello World :)
I'm really kind of enjoying this enacting the book covers.  Note to self red lipstick goes on everything but it doesn't come off anything.  How is your Saturday morning going?  Are you doing well?  What's the weather like outside in your area of living?

Gilt Hollow by Lorie Langdon tells the tale of Ashton Keller.  Accused at the age of 14 of murdering his friend, he has waited four years to exact revenge out of those who testified against him.  Returning to the town that betrayed him; he trusts no one, especially the best friend who abandoned him when he went to juvie.  Willow Lamott, has carried the burden of being Ashton's best friend, she has been adamant these last four years that Ashton is innocent and has payed the price.  In this gritty novel these two must learn how to forgive before it's too late.

Wow!  This book was a stay up late and finish kind of book.  The characters pull you in and the author knew how to bring emotion to the book.   Ms. Lagdon does an amazing job, her thriller/suspense romance is on point and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.  For my Christian readers this is what I would consider light Christian.  There are hints of forgiveness, and God's grace but it's not going to be the kind of book that's in your face Christian.   So there won't be any Bible verses or a salvation message.  On that note, because it's a thriller/suspense romance it's darker then what I would normally read, but it fit.  So, if you like the gritty, and a darker romance novel this is the book for you.

*Yo peeps this book was given to me by BookLookBloggers for my honest review.

John 1:1-31 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

For the Record

Hello World!
Well today I thought how much fun it would be to enact pictures of the book covers.  Well here is the Bre style, if you look at the top it's slightly different then the cover :)

I had fun taking the picture and I'm excited for the future of this.  Today I took a personal day from work to recoup from this last week of Lone Star Ballet's Nutcracker.  My sweet daughter is an angel in it.  We are absolutely loving it, but those late nights sure do take a toll on this ol' lady.  Thankfully, I did a lot of sitting while my daughter danced and I was able to read Regina Jennings "For the Record".

For the Record introduces us to Joel Puckett and Betsy Huckabee.  Both characters are stalwart in wanting to remain single.  They are focused on their own desires and achieving them.  They don't have time to think about romance let alone the unexpected happenings that bring them together.  Will these two vivacious people find love, and solve the town mystery?

This was a fun book to read and the perfect one to be able to while away the hours as my daughter dances :)  I loved that Joel Puckett held on to his integrity and belief in God even when he had people out to get him.  He was truly the dashing deputy to me, and reminded me very much of my husband who has the very same qualities.  I love that Betsy was an honorable woman of God, even if she didn't fit the mold of her community.  These two together and the town that brought them together made for a great read.  If you're wanting witty characters, an amazing back drop, as well as a tale that involves God's plan for them you definitely need to read this book.

*Yo peeps I received this book through Netgalley in hopes of my honest opinion.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

—Romans 12:9

A little love

So,  lately I've had it on my heart to memorize 1 Corinthians 13.  Can I just be honest with you world?  It is hard, I'm horrible at memorizing but God has really burdened me with it.  So I'm going to put it out to the world to accept the same challenge.  Would you be interested in doing this with me?  I have a feeling that more then ever we need to remember the Word of God.  We need to wrap it around our minds and place it in our hearts.  If you are interested, go ahead and comment below or private message me on Facebook, or Instagram, or Twitter (phew that's a lot lol).
Here's the chapter for you all!

1 Corinthians 13English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

The Way of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Footnotes:

The Heiress of Winterwood

Hello World,
Oh boy!  This week will be crazy.  As a musician I've come to the realization that Christmas is busy, full of concerts, Christmas Eve services, and ballet :)  I love it, I love playing for people and I love making music.  My body on the other hand takes a beating.  I am constantly short on sleep, but that's ok because as long as I have vitamin C and D as well as a good chiropractor; I am golden.  How's your Christmas season looking?

The Heiress of Winterwood by Sarah E. Ladd is a story about Amelia, a young lady who desires to fulfill her dearest friends last wishes by taking care of her young daughter.  The baby's Father has just returned from a stint at sea and Amelia has a plan to keep the child, but is God's plans for her or her own desires?

I really enjoyed reading this book.  It was fast paced and it had an interesting take on Christian romance.  Ms. Ladd is a weaver of tales and it's always so refreshing to read her books.  You always get adventure, mystery and romance, but along with that you get a story that keeps you wanting to read to the very end.  I enjoyed Amelia as a character and I understood where she was coming from.  Ameilia wanted to love and care for a child of her best friend who past away and desired God's will in her life.  It reminded me of Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose".   If you love a story with twists and turns, you will love this book :)

*Yo peeps I received this book by Thomas Nelson so that I could give an honest review.

Do what the Lord wants, and he will give you your heart's desire.

Psalms 37:4 

For you

1 Peter 5:6-7The Message (MSG)

6-7 So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.

Just a little encouragement for you today.  Sometimes it's a good reminder to me that God made me for a reason and purpose, and that I should be content with His beautiful creation.

Love you dear readers!

Fatal Frost

Hello World,
Saturday :)  How is it that when you have vacation that it seems to go by in a blink.  It always amazes me how fast time flies.  We've been having a lot of fun as a family, eating copious amounts of food and we went to go see Moana on Thanksgiving.  Now our house is decorated and presents are all bought, life is good.

I had the absolute pleasure of reading Fatal Frost by Nancy Mehl today.  Mercy Brennan is a U.S. Marshal following in her estranged father's footsteps.  When the decisions that her father makes puts her in line with some of the most dangerous gangs; her boss and former ex-boyfriend U.S. Marshal Mark St. Laurent make the decision to protect her.  Unbeknownst to Mercy these two have put her in protective custody, but with a mole in the headquarters their lives are at stake.

Nancy Mehl approaches a very sensitive topic in today's time and writes about what could happen.  Friends, this book is for a more mature audience.  Though there wasn't extreme violence, but there was killings, and other topics that you might not want your child to read unless you have read prior.  This being said, I think Ms. Mehl handled these issues beautifully and it made for a great read.  If you're someone who likes action packed, who dunnit books this is for you.  She layers the story with God's grace, as well as showing the reader that God does care about what is going on with your life and He does want the best for you.  If you can relate to that then please go ahead and purchase the book at this site Here:)

*Yo peeps I received this book from Bethany House for my honest opinion.

That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 (NLT)

Wild Montana Skies

Happy Thanksgiving World!
So I love cooking and Thanksgiving is one of those days where I can bake and cook to my little hearts content.  I grew up with a mom who always made the holidays special.  Her five course meals were amazing, unique, and always so so good :)  Maybe because all our family is in Wisconsin (we live 17 hours away), I have tried my hardest to make sure every holiday for our family is the same.  The kids seem to love the lefsa (a Scandinavian treat) for breakfast, and the big five course meal for Thanksgiving dinner, and then, shhh don't tell them, but we'll be loading them up to go see Moana this evening in their pj's.  Hopefully they'll remember these memories and want to do the same for their family.  Do you have a favorite family tradition?  I would love to hear what yours is :)

Wild Montana Skies by Susan May Warren is a riveting book that immediately puts the reader into action.  The book opens up to a woman (Kacey Fairing)  driving back into her hometown for some much needed rest.  Kacey is a woman recovering from PTSD and bearing a history that is shattered.  Hoping to finally put the pieces back together she runs into the one person that can bring all the pain from the past to present.  Ben King didn't want to see Kacey, but he can't help remember what they had.

Whelp, this book had me at the first sentence.  Seriously I gobbled this baby up like it was twice baked potatoes.  For a first book in the series it lays out a lot for the reader but I didn't mind that because I knew this was laying the ground work for more books.  This book has superb writing, with the amazing truth and grace of Jesus Christ, you will want to read this book!  Once again Susan May Warren hit a home run, and I'm very excited to read her next book in the series!

*Yo peeps Revell gave me this book so I could write my honest opinion.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalms 100:4 (NLT)