I received this complementary book from Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for agreeing to review the book on this site,  and was excited to sit down and enjoy a good story.  I had read great reviews about the author, Colleen Coble, so assumed the story would be fun to read.

Lonestar Homecoming is about a young girl running from her problems as she tries to protect her young daughter.  She eventually learns, throughout quite a few twists and turns, that only by confronting her past will she be able to move forward into happiness.  Overall, the story was a quick read and very well written.  It is the type of book you can sit down and read in a couple hours.  While it was enjoyable, I’m not sure I will be reading anything else by this author.  The character development was a little trite and the overall plot was not as in depth as I like; however, if you plan on taking a trip to the beach or just want to sit on the couch for a lazy rainy afternoon and not think to much, this would be a great book for you!

I don’t normally read fiction more than once, and am trying really hard to not keep clutter in the house, so if you’re looking for an easy ready, I would love to send the book to the first person who wants it.  If you’re interested, leave a comment or send me an email and I’ll send the book your way!

I was delighted to receive a complimentary DVD of Gigi’s Big Break from Thomas Nelson Publishing. This DVD is part of the Gigi:  God’s Little Princess series.

Because of the age of my girls, I first thought the movie might be a bit old for them.   However I was extremely wrong.   Both of my girls are fascinated with princesses and so this DVD was right up their alley.

The DVD has 2 stories in it. The first story discusses lying and the second story is about Gigi having a new sister. Both of these topics are extremely relevant in our household, and it was refreshing to watch a DVD that was not only entertaining to my kids, but was straightforward with Biblical truth presented in a way where my children clearly understood it. Tonight we even went through the trivia questions at the end and both girls were able to answer all the questions about the movie. Talk about effective teaching!!

So far we have watched this DVD twice. I think I enjoy it just as much as the girls do! We will definitely be ordering more Gigi movies and books. I highly recommend this DVD to anyone with little girls in the house.

When I first began reading this novel, I was a bit skeptical. “Another cheesy way to share the gospel” was my initial thought. Let me just admit up front that I was completely wrong.

Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart is a cleverly written story about a young Knight to the Prince. The story parallels the life of a Christian in service to our Savior. Throughout this knight’s journey, he is faced with a lot of doubt about who exactly the Prince is, why bad things happen in the world, the authenticity of the “Code”, and many other important questions. This knight attempts to ignore the doubt and fears he has about his service to the Prince and so eventually is overcome by Lord Drox, representing the evil in the world. It is only through an encounter with Mister Sejus (the Prince) that the young knight becomes strong enough to fight and overcome Lord Drox.

This novel eloquently deals with the doubts and fears that most young Christians have. It shows such a vivid picture of what the Christian life looks like when you live in apathy and what the Christian life looks like once you have truly encountered and submitted to Christ. While it targets young adults, I couldn’t put the book down. My husband made fun of me more than once as I tried to sneak into the back rooms of the house to read without disturbance.

Overall, I personally think this story is so well written and the message it tells is so important that I hope parents buy it for their teenagers. It shows the spiritual battle involved in Christianity in a way where even the most apathetic teenager will understand. I loved the novel, and I hope you get a chance to read it!

Our family’s favorite kid CD is Slugs, Bugs and Lullabies.

We all enjoy this CD by Andrew Peterson so much that I decided to get on his website to see what else I could buy of his. I was so excited when I discovered that in addition to writing music, he also writes fiction! He is such an incredible word smith that when I was asked if I would review his latest book, I knew that if his fiction was as clever as his CDs, I was going to be hooked!

His latest novel is the 2nd book in the Wingfeather Saga. Here is a short synopsis of the novel.

Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby thought they were normal children with normal lives and a normal past. But now they know they’re really the Lost Jewels of Anniera, heirs to a legendary kingdom across the sea, and suddenly everyone wants to kill them.

Their escape brings readers to the very brink of Fingap Falls, over the Stony Mountains, and across the Ice Prairies, while villains galore try to stop the Igibys permanently. Fearsome toothy cows and horned hounds return, along with new dangers: a mad man running a fork factory, a den of rockroaches, and majestic talking sea dragons.

Normally, I don’t gravitate towards fantasy. But this book I couldn’t put down. There’s fantasy elements mixed with drama mixed with action/adventure all put into one. This whole series will definitely capture the attention of any age kid or adult. If you are looking for a good novel to read aloud to your family or just looking for a book to hide away in for a couple days, I would highly recommend this novel.

You can order this novel for $12 or you can order both book 1 and 2 for $20 by clicking here.

I hope you get a chance to sit down and read this series. I’m definitely going to be one of the first in line to buy book three when it comes out!

(sidenote: I do not earn anything from the sale of this book. I just simply enjoyed it so much that I wanted to pass on the info to all of you)