Month: September 2014

Tried & True by Mary Connealy

Book ReviewTried & True by Mary Connealy was a great book to read.  I have to say that I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book when I started reading it but I was surprised and once I got a few chapters in I didn’t want to stop reading because I had to know what was going to happen.  I fell in love with the characters and the plot.  This was a great spin on the typical story line and think that is what drew me in.   There were parts where I laughed and parts where I got sad because of what was going on.  I can’t wait to read the other books in this series because I am sure they will be just as good as this one.

Tried and TrueAbout The Book

Saddle up for a wildly fun ride with the Wilde sisters!

Kylie Wilde is the youngest sister—and the most civilized. Her older sisters might be happy dressing in trousers and posing as men, but Kylie has grown her hair long and wears skirts every chance she gets. It’s a risk—they are homesteading using the special exemptions they earned serving in the Civil War as “boys”—but Kylie plans to make the most of the years before she can sell her property and return to the luxuries of life back East.

Local land agent Aaron Masterson is fascinated with Kylie from the moment her long hair falls from her cap. But now that he knows her secret, can he in good conscience defraud the U.S. government? And when someone tries to force Kylie off her land, does he have any hope of convincing her that marrying him and settling on the frontier is the better option for her future?

Mary ConnealyAbout The Author

Mary Connealy writes fun and lively “romantic comedy with cowboys” for the inspirational market. She is the author of the successful Kincaid Brides, Lassoed in Texas, Montana Marriages, and Sophie’s Daughters series, and she has been a finalist for a Rita and Christy Award and a two time winner of the Carol Award. She lives on a ranch in eastern Nebraska with her husband, Ivan, and has four grown daughters.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Other Side Of Gemini by LG McCann

geminibanner-300x249Other Side Of Gemini by LC McCann was a fun book to read.  I loved this book from the first chapter right up until the last chapter of the book.  I loved both of the characters in this book and I was sad when it was over.  I loved seeing how things worked out with both characters.  It was hard to watch Sylvia go through everything because I really did feel bad for her and only want the best thing for her.  In the end  this was a great book and I can’t wait to read other books by this author.

The Other Side of GeminiAbout The Book

Sylvia Miloche is a successful book editor by day, D-list party girl by night, and has been dating New York City’s favorite playboy James Ryan for five years. But things are far from perfect. When the New York Post catches James with an intern, Sylvia’s already precarious life comes crashing down.

Lindsay Sekulich is a high school science teacher, wife, and mother of three in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona. Her high school reunion is quickly approaching and that means the secrets of her bad-girl past, all of which she’s kept hidden from her husband, could come spilling out, revealing who she once was and the horrible things she’s done.

When Sylvia emerges in Scottsdale, seeking refuge in her hometown from the relentless gossip blogs, Lindsay finds herself alternately elated and terrified. The two were inseparable as teens, but a tragedy just before their senior year tore them apart. Sylvia, once a carefree, joyful girl always up for adventure, is a beaten down and broken adult. Now Lindsay must make a choice: rescue the friend who saved her in high school, or keep it all hidden to save her marriage from almost certain destruction.

lg mccannAbout The Author

LG McCann was born and raised in the Last Frontier. She spent her formative years on her
family’s ski resort near Fairbanks where, if she wasn’t bombarding customers with rocketlaunched
Barbie dolls, she was in the cubby under the stairs making up stories. After enduring
the rest of her adolescence in Anchorage, LG tried her hand in the Lower-48, where she
graduated from Hollins University summa cum laude with a double major in English and Film &
Photography.
After six years in New York City, where she acquired unique experiences working in reality TV,
the non-profit sector, and the publishing industry, LG still hadn’t found her calling. She still just
wanted to be in that cubby making up stories. She wanted to write.
These days, that’s exactly what she’s doing. But when she’s not writing or proofreading (or at her day job), you’ll most
likely find LG playing in her garden, cooking with her partner Jonathan, attempting complex yoga moves, or passing out
from exhaustion on her couch with her fuzzy assistant Emmy Cat.

Connect with LG:

Twitter: @lgmccann
Instagram: lgmccann
Facebook: facebook.com/lgmccann

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Shades Of Mercy by Anita Lustrea and Caryn Rivadeneira

Book ReviewShades Of Mercy by Anita Lustrea and Caryn Rivadeneira was a different book for me to read.  Even though it was different I did love it and can’t wait to check out other books in the series because these authors did a great job when it came to writing this book.  In this story you get to see Mercy as she grows up and gets tired of being treated like a son by her father.  You also get to see what it was like for minorities in the 1950’s.  If you love historical fiction you will love this book!

17290460About The Book

It’s 1954 and the world-even the far Northwoods of Maine-is about to change. But that change can’t happen soon enough for fourteen-year-old Mercy Millar. Long tired of being the “son” her father never had, Mercy’s ready for the world to embrace her as the young woman she is-as well as embrace the forbidden love she feels.
When childhood playmates grow up and fall in love, the whole community celebrates. But in the case of Mercy and Mick, there would be no celebration. Instead their relationship must stay hidden. Good girls do not date young men from the Maliseet tribe. At least, not in Watsonville, Maine. When racial tensions escalate and Mick is thrown in jail under suspicion of murder, Mercy nearly loses all hope-in love, in her father, and in God himself.

About The Authors

65c78ec34e700ad8986c3d.L._V196652153_SX200_Caryn Dahlstrand Rivadeneira

Hello! I am a writer, speaker, and serve on the worship staff at Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church. I’m one of those kinds of writers who’s been writing since the magic age of 7 and have written all sorts of stuff. But the stuff you can find here at Amazon is: Shades of Mercy: A Novel (RiverNorth, 2013), Known and Loved: 52 Devotions from the Psalms (Revell, 2013), Grumble Hallelujah: Learning to Love Life When It Lets You Down (Tyndale House, 2011), Mama’s Got a Fake I.D.: How to Reveal the Real You Behind All that Mom (Waterbrook, 2009). The stuff you can read elsewhere includes my writing as a regular contributor to Christianity Today’s Her.Meneutics and a columnist for Re:Frame Media’s Think Christian. I also write regularly for places like Relevant and FullFill, along with several other media outlets.

I live outside of Chicago with my husband, three kids and one pit bull. Visit me at http://www.carynrivadeneira.com, on my Facebook author page (caryn.rivadeneira.author) and on Twitter @CarynRivadeneir!

9ea2ce659c720a7e9d9a1b.L._V185176865_SX200_Anita Lustrea

Anita Lustrea is executive producer and host of Moody Radio’s award winning Midday Connection. Garnering NRB’s 2008 Program of the Year Award, Midday Connection deals with issues most radio programs won’t. The program offers avenues for spiritual transformation in the midst of difficult personal issues. Anita is also an author, a much sought-after conference and retreat speaker and a spiritual director. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Mike and has a college aged son John.

Anita is a self identified hot tea snob and can’t face the day before her Irish Breakfast Tea is steeped for 5 minutes with honey and milk added. She hails from Maine and makes an annual pilgrimage to Aroostook County.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

MS Tuesday-Latest MRI & Update

MSI had an MRI the last Saturday in August and I just had my 6 month appointment with my doctor so I wanted to write a quick update.  I am sure most people aren’t really interested in these updates but I want to be able to look back later and see what has changed and this is the easiest way to record how things are now.

Anyway let’s get on to how things are for me now.  For the most part things are okay.  I mean I don’t feel good hardly ever but I am starting to think that this is my new normal and because of that I am not going to really complain about it.  I know things could be so much worse for me so I am trying to stay positive about everything.

My latest MRI showed that I am still stable and there are no signs that I am developing PML so I can still stay on the Tysabri.  Which for me is a great thing because it is the only thing that has ever kept me stable so for me it does work and I don’t know what I would do if I had to stop taking it.  I know that there are pills out now but they are still so knew that I don’t want to start on them until they have been out longer.

This is also the first appointment in years where we didn’t change any medications and we just are going to keep doing what we are doing and see what happens in the next few months.  The only real change is the fact that my doctor wants to start seeing me every three months now instead of every 6 months which isn’t a huge problem just more time-consuming is all.

So all is all I am still stable and nothing much is really going on so I can’t really complain about things now.  I have the MS Hug happen a few times in the past couple of weeks but it is hard to say that is what it is when it could also be my back injury so who knows about that.

If you have any questions or requests for something you would like to see please leave them in comments!

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Christmas at Rose Hill Farm by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Book ReviewChristmas at Rose Hill Farm by Suzanne Woods Fisher was a sweet Christmas story.  I am not usually one for stories based around Christmas but I loved this one and I was so glad to have read it.  I loved the story and all the characters in the book.  It was kind of predictable to me but I still enjoyed it and fell in love with the characters.  I was sad that this book was so short because I really did love these characters so I wish the book was longer or  that it was a series of books.  If you love Amish fiction I know you will love this book.

Christmas at Rose Hill FarmAbout The Book

Bess Riehl is preparing Rose Hill Farm for her Christmas wedding, but her groom isn’t who she thought it would be. Billy Lapp is far away from his Amish roots working as a rose rustler for Penn State and wants nothing to do with Stoney Ridge, his family, or Bess. And that suits Bess just fine. Why should she think twice about a man who left without a word, without any explanation? It’s time she moved on with her life, and that meant saying yes to Amos Lapp, Billy’s cousin and best friend. But as Bess and Amos’s wedding day draws near, her emotions tangle into a tight knot. She loves Amos. Yet she can’t forget Billy.

When a “lost” rose is discovered at Rose Hill Farm, Billy is sent to track down its origins. Get in, identify the rose, and get out. That’s his plan. The only catch is that he’s having a hard time narrowing down the identity of the lost rose, and he can’t get those tropical blue eyes of Bess Riehl out of his mind.

As the history of the lost rose is pieced together, it reminds Bess and Billy—and Amos, too—that Christmas truly is the season of miracles.

“Filled with heart-twisting moments amid the sweet anticipation of love, this story will charm readers into the holiday spirit.”

Suzanne Woods FisherAbout The Author

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of the Inn at Eagle Hill series, Lancaster County Secrets series, and the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. She is also the coauthor of a new Amish children’s series, The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist. She is a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazines. She lives in California.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Joyful by Shelley Shepard Gray

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Book ReviewJoyful by Shelley Shepard Gray was a great book.  This is the third book in the series and I have read the other two as well so I was so glad that I could review this one so I could stay caught up with the characters I have fallen in love with.  One thing I loved about this series that she checks in with other characters even though the story isn’t about them.  In fact my two favorite characters aren’t actually main characters in any of the books.  I loved the characters in this book because they seemed so real.  This book was amazing and I am sad that it is the last book in the series because I would love to keep following these characters and see where they all end up.

JoyfulAbout The Book

A young Amish couple gets a second chance at love in New York Times bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray’s final book in her Return to Sugarcreek series.

Randall Beiler is doing his best to put his family and the farm’s needs first, even forsaking love. But though he tries, Randall knows he needs help caring for his younger siblings and keeping the house together.

When his brother offers pretty Elizabeth Nolt a job taking care of the house and cooking for the family, Randall is furious—and guilty about the way he once broke Elizabeth’s heart. But when he learns that Elizabeth and her grandmother are struggling to make ends meet, he knows the offer, no matter how painful, is the right thing for everyone.

Elizabeth wants to refuse—to stay far away from the man who hurt her—but she needs the money. Though she vows to protect her heart, spending time in the Beiler household makes Elizabeth realize that, while she’s older and wiser, her love for Randall still burns strong.

Randal, too, seems to want something more. But does he want Elizabeth because he truly loves her—or because he needs a housekeeper? If Randall sincerely wants something more, he must find a way to show Elizabeth—or risk losing his chance at love forever.

Shelley Shepard GrayAbout The Author

Shelley Shepard Gray is a two-time New York Timesbestseller, a two-time USA Todaybestseller, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time Holt Medallion winner. She lives in Southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret