Thursday, January 8, 2015

Adventure Bible Miracles of Jesus

Book Description

Miracles of Jesus is a level three I Can Read! based on the NIV Adventure Bible, the number one Bible for kids. Through engaging illustrations and age-appropriate vocabulary, young readers will follow Jesus on his travels as he heals the sick and spreads the Good News of his Father’s love. Written for the newly independent reader, this series is appropriate for children almost ready for their first chapter books.
My Thoughts:
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this book (via BookLook).  I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

My Thoughts:
We completely enjoyed this book.  My 6 year old read this book to me.  He was thrilled to be learning about the miracles that Jesus performed.  Add to that, he could understand these so much easier than when we read a story directly from the Bible.  He thought the loaves and fish was cool because of it being a young boy that had them and that there was so much left.  Now we've read and discussed that story at length before but today it just popped with him and in his words 'was awesome'.
I think this is a great book for young kids to learn to read on and to learn more about Jesus.  This was a 5/5 for us!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this book (via BookLook).  I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated are 100% mine.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Private Affair by Rebecca York

Book Description:
Does everyone have something to hide?
Olivia Winters and Max Lyon knew each other way back when, but she was one of the cool kids, and he was a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Olivia's a successful model now, and Max a PI much in demand.
When Olivia's old high school friend is murdered-and a raft of "accidental" deaths may be murders, too-Max is the only man Olivia can trust to help her investigate.
As they team up, Max is blown away by Olivia's courage under fire, and Olivia finds that the bad boy she remembers from the fringes of her social circle might just be the best man she's ever met...

My Thoughts:
This was a good mystery book.  Olivia has hired Max's firm to investigate her best friend's murder.  She is convinced that this murder is only one of several that have happened to members of her graduating class, though the others were ruled accidents.  Max is the perfect choice to pose as Olivia's fiance because he went to the same school, a couple years ahead of her, and he is the only on in the firm not attached....yet.
I loved that Olivia moved away from the small town and made a big name for herself in the modeling industry.  She wasn't flashy about it and didn't seek out attention when coming back to plan the 10 year reunion, but instead she came back to find out who murdered her friend.  Max was the bad boy that all the girls thought was hot back in school days and not much has changed.  Though he grew up and outgrew the bad boy issues with some mentoring.  The 'who done it' part of the book was good.  I liked that it could be a few different people and slowly got narrowed down.
This was a 3/5 for me.  I liked the mystery that surrounded the book but the romance just didn't ring true to me, especially toward the end.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this book (via netgalley).  I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Hungry Like the Wolf by Paige Tyler

Book Description

They’re tight
They’re on target
They’re as alpha as men can get


The Dallas SWAT team is hiding one helluva secret…they’re a pack of wolf shifters.

The team of elite sharpshooters is ultra-secretive—and also the darlings of Dallas. This doesn’t sit well with investigative journalist Mackenzie Stone. They must be hiding something…and she’s determined to find out what.

Keeping Mac at a distance proves impossible for SWAT team commander Gage Dixon. She’s smart, sexy, and makes him feel alive for the first time in years. But she’s getting dangerously close to the truth—and perilously close to his heart... 

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this shifter romance.  The Dallas SWAT team is top notch.  They are absolutely the best and everyone looks up to them.  Mackenzie Stone is determined there is more to this team than everyone thinks.  There is no way they can be THIS perfect.  Gage is the leader of SWAT and the pack.  He decides the best way to keep Mac out of his hair is to bring her in and let her look around.  The problem with that is, she winds her way into his heart and gets awfully close to the truth about who and what the team really is.
The characters in this one pulled me in.  I love how close Mac and her camera-man are.  Brother and sister type bond.  I also love the interaction  the pack had.  There were problems throughout, fights even, but they were going to protect each other at any cost.  The descriptions of these guys...mercy!  I would LOVE to watch one of their workout sessions.  Overall, the romance and relationship were a central part of the story but there really was a lot more going on here too.  Good story line.  
It was a 4/5 for me.  I love how the pack interacted and each member was 
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this book (via netgalley).  I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Monday, January 5, 2015

The Trouble with Texas Cowboys by Carolyn Brown

Book Description:
Can a girl ever have too many cowboys?
No sooner does pint-sized spitfire Jill Cleary set foot on Fiddle Creek Ranch than she finds herself in the middle of a hundred-year-old feud. Quaid Brennan and Tyrell Gallagher are both tall, handsome, and rich...and both are courting Jill to within an inch of her life. She's doing her best to give these feuding ranchers equal time-too bad it's dark-eyed Sawyer O'Donnell who makes her blood boil and her hormones hum...


My Thoughts:
This was an enjoyable romance read.  Jill Cleary has come back home and landed smack dab in the middle of a feud.  Sawyer O'Donnell has taken a job at the ranch the two families are feuding over.  Jill and Sawyer are caught in the middle of an old power struggle and the two families are determined to use their 'prime stock' (aka hotties)to lure them into relationships and land.  Quaid and Tyrell are after Jill and she decides to give each a chance.  The problem is, neither of their kisses make her feel what her bunk-mate, Sawyer's, do. I absolutely loved the way Sawyer and Jill met.  Add to that meeting that both were asked out by members of the feuding families within minutes of each other and the story is off.  The fact that neither was the other's type and they were supposed to be sharing a bunk house, you knew it wasn't going to be that simple!  The author does a good job with stringing you along with the romance side of it.  The pushier the hotties from the feuding families got, the more entrenched Jill and Sawyer became in not letting them get their way.  Some of the things that went on in the feud were crazy, some ridiculous and others just plain weird.
It was  a 3/5 for me.  I liked the quick romantic read, but some of it got to be a little much.


Thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this book (via netgalley).  I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Guardian by Natasha Deen

GuardianBook Description:
For seventeen-year-old Maggie Johnson, transitioning the dead isn't hard. What's tough is surviving the insults and pranks of Serge Popov, high school thug and the dumbest jock to ever set foot in Dead Falls, Alberta. When she finds him dead and later discovers his spirit trapped in her room, she figures it's a case of divine justice. Let the jerk rot for eternity, bound to an earthly prison. But someone - or something - has a different agenda. If Maggie doesn't help Serge cross over, she'll die at the hands of the otherworldly entity that's taken an interest in the dead bully. As she digs into the circumstances of Serge's murder, she'll uncover the secrets hidden by the world of the living and the wonders revealed by cities of the dead - if her investigation doesn't kill her first.
My Thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Maggie has always seen the dead and helped them go from confusion to the beyond.  Serge is the bane of her existence.  He strives to make her life complete and total misery.  When she finds his body, she thinks that is the end of her torment, but in reality it is just the beginning.  As a spirit, he is her constant companion, even if it is what neither of them wants.  She has to figure out who killed him and why, but that puts her in grave danger.
I really liked Maggie.  She is absolutely different from everyone around her and the guy she has been crushing on is at least a friend to start out.  I liked that aspect.  It wasn't like she was just crushing on some random guy but it was a friend that she just wanted to be more.  I absolutely disliked Serge in the start but watching his story unfold was an eye-opening experience.  The secondary characters were great.  Maggie's dad, his girlfriend, Maggie's best friend, and many others just made the story.  I wasn't expecting the twists this story took and am ready to read more!
This was a 4/5 for me.  I cannot wait to read the next book in this series to see what happens with these characters.
Thank you to the author for the review copy of this book.  I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

**Contains adult content/language**

Friday, January 2, 2015

Under the Lawman's Protection by Laura Scott

Book Description:

A PROMISE TO PROTECT 

As a skilled SWAT team negotiator, Isaac Morrison has defused many a crisis situation. But safeguarding Leah Nichols and her young son may be his most challenging mission yet. Leah's brother—his best friend Shane—has gone missing while working undercover. Now it's up to Isaac to protect mother and child from Shane's enemies. He doesn't know whom they can trust, but he's determined to catch the gunmen threatening their lives. Isaac knows he needs his best protection skills against their formidable adversary. Because he can't risk the consequences to the little family who has stealthily claimed his heart. 

My Thoughts:
Good book!  Isaac (Ice) gets a call from an old friend saying that his sister and her son need protection.  Isaac doesn't hesitate but goes straight to Leah's house to protect her and her son until her brother can get there.  When he has to take them into hiding, the bond between mother and child tug at his heart and make him wish his life were different.  Leah wants her brother found and alive, but since his cover is blown he wants to keep them away.  She must trust Isaac to keep her and her son safe because the ones after her brother and trying to use them to get to him.
I really liked Isaac.  He is the kind of friend I would want if my family was in trouble.  As soon as he got the message from his friend, he was on the road to do what was needed.  I felt for him when we find out what his past is like but that just makes him better.  Leah was a good, strong character.  I like that her son was always first.  If she wasn't getting what she wanted, oh well, her son was safe.  The romance in this was secondary to the suspense but I have to say that I liked the ending!
Solid 4/5 for me.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this book (via netgalley).  I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.