Tuesday, October 20, 2015

The Great Christmas Knit-Off by Alexandra Brown – TLC Tour Stop



The Great Christmas Knit-Off was exactly what I needed right now during the mid-term season of my semester, a novel that was equivalent to a large cup of hot chocolate with whip cream on top.  Sybil, Sybs, is having a crisis.  She was set to marry her fiancé in a May the 4th Star Wars themed wedding complete with Sybs dressed as Princess Leia with the buns, when her fiancée ran off with another woman . . . her twin sister!  After a mistake at work and with her personal life in shambles, Sybs decides to visit her friend Cher in a quaint English village, Tindledale.

Once in Tindledale for a long weekend, Sybs discovers that in a small town, everyone knows what the new person is doing and their business.  She also discovers Hettie’s House of Haberdashery complete with many items that sing to her knitter’s heart, but also a lot of old stock that needs to be changed.  The proprietor, Hettie Honey, loves knitting, but is facing eviction due to the unscrupulous actions of her nephew and the poor business she has had over the past few years.  Sybs decides to help out Hettie, while Hettie also helps Sybs with a knitting project, and pretty soon, Sybs has the house of Haberdashery on the map as a trendy place to knit and chat.  She also devices a way to get the town knitting and helping Hettie for a great Christmas knit-off.  Along the way, Sybs also meets the dashing Dr. Darcy.  Will Sybs find her way in the world and take the chance for a new start?  Will Hettie’s shop by saved?

I loved the cozy writing and storyline.  The characters in Tindledale were interesting, and fun to read about.  I loved Sybs and was cheering for her through the book.  I love stories about people having a crisis and how they are able to work their way through it.  I also love when someone follows their passion and dreams.  And I also love Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice and loved the nod to the name of the hero in this novel, Dr. Darcy. 

Overall, The Great Christmas Knit-off is a delight to read with a great story, characters, and setting.  I want to visit Tindledale!  I love Christmas novels, and this will be sure to be one that will delight for years to come.

Book Source:  William Morrow for a review for the TLC Book Tour.  Thank-you and check this link for more stopson the tour.


About The Great Christmas Knit-Off

• Paperback: 400 pages • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (October 13, 2015) When life unravels, it's time to knit . . . Sybil has always taken comfort in her passion for knitting, creating beautiful garments stitch by stitch. But her world suddenly unravels when her fiancé ditches her for her identical twin sister at her Star Wars–themed wedding, leaving Sybil at the altar sporting a Princess Leia do. And things go from bad to worse when an incident at work jeopardizes her job. To escape her woes and forget that she'll be alone for Christmas this year, Sybil sets off to visit her friend Cher in Tindledale—a winter wonderland of quaint shops and snowy rooftops. When she arrives in the idyllic town, she can't help feeling like she's in a Hallmark greeting card. She's embraced by welcoming—if eccentric—locals wearing handmade sweaters that remind Sybil of her own creations and her unrealized ambitions of selling them. So when the owner of a vintage-clothing boutique asks her to make an assortment of knits for their display window, she's thrilled. And hoping to heal her broken heart, the hot town doctor has even taken an interest in Sybil. But just when Sybil thinks she's going to have her fairy-tale Christmas after all, an unexpected turn of events threatens to unspool her happily ever after.
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Alexandra Brown APAbout Alexandra Brown

Alexandra Brown began her writing career as the City Girl columnist for the London Paper. She wrote the weekly column—a satirical diary account of her time working in the corporate world of London—for two years before giving it up to concentrate on writing novels and is now the author of the Cupcakes at Carrington's books. Set in a department store in the pretty seaside town of Mulberry-On-Sea, the series follows the life, loves and laughs of sales assistant Georgie Hart. The Great Christmas Knit-Off is Alexandra's fourth book and the first in a new series set in the fictional village of Tindledale, following the lives of all the characters there. Alexandra lives in a real village near the south coast of England with her husband, daughter and a very shiny black Labrador retriever. Find out more about Alexandra at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Unafraid: 365 Days Without Fear (A Daily Devotional) by Gracie Malone Review and GIVEAWAY!



The title of this books makes me sing the hymn “Be not afraid, I am always with you” in my mind every time I pick it up.  Author Gracie Malone has a wonderful introduction to this devotional where she discusses how one Sunday a preacher said that the phrase most often repeated in the Bible is “do not be afraid.”  Malone was wondering if this was really true and using our great computer technology of today she discovered 426 verses on fear in the Bible.

Malone took 365 of these instances where this phrase appeared in the Bible and starts each devotional with a phrase, has a wonderful and sometimes humorous and other times thought-provoking discussion of it and then ends with a biblical conclusion.  As Malone states, “the Word of God gives us the imperative not to fear and brings us light.”  The devotional is broken up into the four seasons and also by date through the year.

I love, love, love this devotional.  I have enjoyed reading the entire devotional, but look forward to reading it now at a more leisurely pace throughout the year.  I loved all of the different verses and the story behind them.  I found them to be very inspirational and another way to deepen my spirituality.

Here is one of my favorite devotionals (September 22nd):

“The one who fears is not perfected in love.  1 John 4:18

Have you ever loved someone with the 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love?  Maybe you can say, “I know that chapter, and I have tired, but it seems impossible!”  Perhaps you have managed to get it right on a few counts but failed miserably on others.  You may have been successful in controlling your anger a few times and can honestly say you did not keep score.  You may be able to claim you haven’t given up – at least not yet.  But on other points, you admit failure.  Is it even possible to love another person like that as long as we live on this fallen planet?  Still, most of us are trying.

Have you ever been loved that much?  You may have been loved well by someone special – a doting father, an adoring husband, a close friend, a soul mate.  But others cannot make that claim.  Most people are looking for love, some in the wrong places, and others fear they will never find it.

To all who are searching for love, it is found in Jesus.  Jesus loves you!  There’s nothing you can do to keep Him from loving you – not your bad attitude, confusion, hurt, or problems.  Nothing, and I do mean nothing, will ever separate you and me from the everlasting love of Christ.  Aide in His love and be Unafraid.

[Nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is the in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:39”

Overall, Unafraid is a wonderful and unique devotional and I highly recommend it.

Book Source:  Review Copy from Hachette Book Group – Thanks!



Giveaway
  One lucky winner will receive a copy of  Unafraid by Gracie Malone courtesy of Hachette.  If you would like to win Unafraid, please leave a comment on why it sounds interesting or a favorite Bible verse on fear.
 
As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. 
 
For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a Monte Carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments. 
 
This contest is only open to US  residents (Sorry!). 
 
No P.O. Boxes. 
 
The deadline for entry is midnight on Friday October 30th!
 
Please make sure to check the first week of November to see if you are a winner. I send emails to the winner, but lately I've been put in their "junk mail" folder instead of their inbox.
 
Good luck!


Thursday, October 15, 2015

A.D. 33 by Ted Dekker



Maviah is the illegitimate daughter of a desert king and now has become a ruler in her own right in the Middle East in A.D. 33.  She works to keep her people safe while also following the new king, with a new message of hope, Yeshua.  Is Yeshua really the son of God and can he save her people?  And can he save himself from a death that is foretold?

I’ll admit, I had a very hard time getting into this novel.  I think the problem is that this novel is book two in a series and I have not read the first book.  I wasn’t sure who the characters all were at the start and the dynamics of what was going on because it seemed to just be picking up where I assume the first book ended.  The parts that I did really like were when Yeshua (Jesus) came into the story.  Using his real dialogue from the Bible was inspired and kept the story interesting.  I actually would have liked the book just to be about Yeshua without Maviah.  The end of the book also had a great section that showed where the quotes from Jesus came from the Bible.

Overall, a great story that shows Jesus as a man preaching and reaching out to the people of the Middle East, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I would have read the first novel, A.D. 30 before I read A.D. 33.

Book Source:  Review Copy from Hachette Book Group – Thanks!



A.D. 33 Preview:  http://bit.ly/1OVuihr

More info about the book is available here: http://bit.ly/1eu08Tp

Retail Links:
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1SNnBwg
Indiebound.org: http://bit.ly/1MVf8Wp