Stuck in the Middle; a review

Stuck in the Middle (Sister-to-Sister, Book 1)


Joan is a middle sister, she's 25, and she's living with mother and grandmother. Joan had thought she had life figured out, until her boyfriend of 9 years leaves her and marries another woman. That was almost a year ago and she hasn't dated, or wanted to date since. That is until a handsome young doctor rents the house next door. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Joan. She was believable and her struggles were real. The dynamics between her and hew two sisters were witty and charming. The relationship between Joan and Ken, her neighbor doctor, was well written out. I related to Joan and her struggle to find a real relationship with God. Joan has always been a church-goer, a "Sunday Christian." It's not until she hears a missionary speak, and Ken comes into her life that she's realizes what she's missing and longing for. It is a great story on how to overcome past losses of loved ones and focus on the one constant in our life, God. There were a few key scriptures that were worked nicely into the story-line. I would recommend this book to anyone who's having those same struggles.


This was a great free selection on Amazon's free books list for Kindle.


*All opinions are my own. I received no compensation for this review.

Fools Rush In: Weddings by Bella; a review

Fools Rush In (Weddings by Bella, Book 1)

Bella Rossi is a gal in her late twenties still living and at home and has just taken over the family business, a wedding facility. The book follows her first wedding as the manager, a boot-scootin' cowboy themed wedding. Bella comes from a large family of Italians, and while they own the wedding facility they have never done themed weddings, until now. Bella is hoping to take the wedding facility into a whole new direction. The book follows Bella from one incident to the next as she tries to pull of a cowboy style wedding, when she knows nothing about cowboys or country western.

I found this book to be an entertaining read, quick and simple. The Rossi family dynamics were hilarious to watch. The romance between Bella and her cowboy is endearing. One thing to note is this is a Christian themed book. When Bella begins to fall on hard times she leans on her family and her faith to get her through it. I thought this was great start to the series. It will be interesting and fun to revisit the Rossi and Neeley families and watch them come together.

*At the time of this review, Fools Rush In is still on Amazon's Kindle free books list. If you own a Kindle be sure to check this list often as they are always adding new books to it.

All opinions are my own. I am not receiving any compensation for this review.

I'm a fan of my Kindle...for so many reasons!!

I love books. I love the feel of having a book in my hand and flipping through the pages. The idea of being the first one to open my book, when the pages are all crisp and clean, is invigorating. I have always loved to read. My bookshelves are overflowing and I keep adding more to them.

At first the idea of the e-reader was great. Then as I thought about it a little more I was unsure of how I would like it. Would I enjoy it as much as having a book in my hand? The answer is No, I still love having a book to flip through. However, I decided that the e-reader had it's place. I travel, I love traveling, I do so every chance I get. This is where an e-reader is very handy. Whereas I use to have to carry 3 or 4 books for a week long trip, now I just have my nice sleek Kindle with as many books as I want! And I enjoy reading on it much more than I thought that I would.

I received my Kindle as a gift for Christmas. I did some research and had narrowed it down between the Nook (by Barnes & Noble) and Amazon's Kindle. I'm a big hands on person, I like to see and touch most things before I buy them. I think that was part of why I had been leaning toward the Nook, I would mess around with it every time I walked into Barnes & Noble, I would peruse the covers and cases for them and had the one I wanted picked out. However, so many reviewers chose the Kindle and liked it better so I was still holding back on purchasing a Nook. Then the new Kindle 3 was released, and Best Buy had them available in store to look at. I was sold.

The Kindle 3 came in the dark graphite color, whereas the Nook only came in white. White always gets dirty, and once dirty it will never look sleek and clean again. I steer away from white electronics and cars because no matter how careful I am they always get dirty, and fast. The graphite color helps hide the dirt nicely. The Kindle was also slightly lighter and thinner than the Nook, at least to my feel. I liked the way it felt in my hand better than a Nook.

The one draw back I saw at the time was that the Nook used page numbers, whereas the Kindle did not. This meant that if I wanted to compare notes with someone or they told me to look at a specific passage, I had no reference to go off if they had the printed copy of the book. Amazon has just recently released an update for page numbers in books, I haven't noticed it on the last books that I've read but I'm hoping it will help things go smoother between the electronic editions and print editions of books.

I am very happy with my Kindle. One thing I enjoy most about Amazon is the number of free books that they offer for the Kindle. I have over 100 books and have only purchased about a dozen, and even with that I have only spent about  $30. There are numerous free titles, from classics to more current reads. The website and free list are updated hourly. I check it every few days and almost always add a title or two that sounds interesting. And when they are free, why not?? If I don't love it I don't have to worry about having spent any amount on it. Amazon also offers a number of books for under $5, in all genres. It's great. Having inexpensive and free novels to read is a great way to discover new authors or new genres in which you are interested.

I highly recommend the Kindle :-)

Books...

So I had said I wanted to read one new book a month, and I've done a lot better than reading one new book a month. Lately I've been reading a lot...and Mike doesn't care for it too much. He says that I'm not paying enough attention to him because I'm reading too much. I read the entire twilight series in one week...I can see why everyone enjoys them so much. Now I'm going to see the movie and all that. My only problem with it was I wish she would have done an epilogue to the last book. Kinda like what JK Rowling did with the Harry Potter series. Not an entire book but maybe just 10 pages or so about how the future worked out. But oh well. I enjoyed them none the less.

I also have been reading Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels and love them too. There's about 15 of them I think and Im on number 9 right now. They are quick easy reads, I can usually do one in the evening after work. I love em! They are fun and totally just mindless reading.

I found a few Christian authors that I really enjoyed. Mindy Starns Clark Whispers on the Bayou and her one about the Amish (can't remember the name right now) were both very good. I like Whispers better than the other but they were both very good. Recommend them, they are both kinda dark gothic mysteries I guess you could say.

The other Christian author I really enjoyed reading was Denise Hildreth's Will of Wisteria. Gives a good perspective on life and what's important....even if you are raised with an endless supply of wealth.

I'm glad that I've gotten myself into reading. It has helped me make it through this crudhole of a town I currently live in. Yay, for reading!!!