Books, Movies, and Chinese Food

Summary from BN.com: When Melaia, a young priestess, witnesses the gruesome murder of a stranger in the temple courtyard, age-old legends recited in song suddenly come to life. She discovers wings on the stranger, and the murderer takes the shape of both a hawk and a man. Angels. Shape-shifters. Myths and stories—until now. Melaia finds herself in the middle of a blood feud between two immortal brothers who destroyed the stairway to heaven, stranding angels in the earthly realm. When Melaia becomes a target, she finds refuge with a band of angels attempting to restore the stairway. But the restoration is impossible without settling an ancient debt—the “breath of angel, blood of man,” a payment that involves Melaia’s heart, soul, and destiny. There's a reason why I normally turn down about 98% of books that are fantasy based. I just cannot get into the world. I guess I need something more down to earth and of this world in order for me to comprehend the surroundings...

Mercy Land has made some unexpected choices for a young woman in the 1930s. The sheltered daughter of a traveling preacher, she chooses to leave her rural community to move to nearby Bay City on the warm, gulf-waters of southern Alabama. There she finds a job at the local paper and spends seven years making herself indispensable to old Doc Philips, the publisher and editor. Then she gets a frantic call at dawn—it’s the biggest news story of her life, and she can’t print a word of it. Doc has come into possession of a curious book that maps the lives of everyone in Bay City—decisions they’ve made in the past, and how those choices affect the future. Mercy and Doc are consumed by the mystery locked between the pages—Doc because he hopes to right a very old wrong, and Mercy because she wants to fulfill the book’s strange purpose. But when a mystery from Mercy’s past arrives by train, she begins to understand that she will have to make choices that will deeply a...

Content in her comfortable marriage of twenty-two years, Jane Lindsay had never expected to watch her husband, rad, pack his belongings and walk out the door of their Manhattan home. But when it happens, she feels powerless to stop him and the course of events that follow Brad’s departure. Jane finds an old ring in a box of relics from a British jumble sale and discovers a Latin inscription in the band along with just one recognizable word: Jane. Feeling an instant connection to the mysterious ring bearing her namesake, Jane begins a journey to learn more about the ring—and perhaps about herself. ~ In the sixteenth-century, Lucy Day becomes the dressmaker to Lady Jane Grey, an innocent young woman whose fate seems to be controlled by a dangerous political and religious climate, one threatening to deny her true love and pursuit of her own interests. As the stories of both Janes dovetail through the journey of one ring, it becomes clear that each woman has far more influence over her lif...

Josie Brooks, at the age of 47, thought she was leading an enviable single life. A successful consultant, she calls her own shots, goes where the money is, and never needs to compromise. But her precisely managed world begins to falter during a Chicago contract when an economic downturn, a bleeding heart boss, and the loyalty and kindness between endangered employees ding her coat of armor. Throw in hot flashes, a dose of loneliness, a peculiar longing for intimacy, an unquenchable thirst—not to mention a mysterious snowglobe with a serene landscape, complete with a flowing river and lush greenery that seems to be beckoning her in—and Josie’s buttoned-up life is on the verge of coming completely undone. Maybe her solitary existence isn’t as fulfilling as she has convinced herself to believe. It will take a few new friends, a mystical encounter, and an unexpected journey to set Josie on her own path to “right-sizing” and making the life changes that really matter. Filled...

The last thing that Cassandra Higgins expects out of her Sunday is to be mesmerized at a collectors’ convention by a snowglobe. She’s enjoying some mommy time, with husband Ken at home tending their brood of four young boys, when she’s utterly charmed by the one-of-a kind globe containing figures of three dogs and a little girl with hair the color of her own. She can’t resist taking the unique globe home– even if means wrestling another shopper for it! The beautiful snowglobe sparks long-dormant memories for Cassie, of her beloved Grandpa Wonky, the stray she rescued as a child, and the painful roots of her combative relationship with her mother, “Bad Betty” Kamrowski. Life in Wanonishaw, Minnesota is never dull, though, and Cassie keeps the recollections at bay, busy balancing her boys, her home daycare operation, and being a good friend to best pal Margret. But after a strange– flurrious, as Cassie deems it–moment happens with the remarkable snowglobe, Cassie and the p...

Reading, knitting, and laughter abound in Sweetgum, Tennessee! In this charming sequel to The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society, the ladies tackle another book list while Eugenie's newlywed bliss falters; young Hannah begins dating; and restless Camille resists a romance that would tie her to the small town forever. Will friendship keep them from coming unraveled? It's time to return to Sweetgum and it turns out that the ladies we met previously are still not done with their secrets and relationships. This time the focus of their book choice and knitting is romance. And what better way than to look back on the great romance classics that literature has to offer? Once again, the book is split into different stories of all the women in the group. It might be a little too much for the reader as there are several members but once you are able to keep track of everyone, it becomes much easier. One topic that gets brought up is the role of the pastor's wife in a church. I tot...

On the third Friday of each month, Eugenie, Ruth, Esther, Merry, and Camille meet at the Sweetgum Christian Church to enjoy the two things that connect them: a love of knitting and a passion for books. Their camaraderie remains unthreatened until Eugenie, the town librarian, introduces an angry teenager into their midst. Eugenie also gives them a new reading list: the classic novels of girlhood that young Hannah has never read. Little Women. Pollyanna. Heidi. Books that remind the women of the hopes and dreams they have lost along the way. With each click of their needles, the ladies of the Knit Lit Society unravel their secrets: A shadow from Eugenie’s past haunts the controlled order of her life. Merry’s perfect little family is growing again–but will she continue to feel her identity slip away? Camille dreams of leaving town but is bound by ties of love. And the sisters, Ruth and Esther, must confront a lie they have lived with for over thirty years. As Hannah is rel...

If you’ve ever had the opening bars of a song transport you back in time or remind you of a pivotal spiritual moment, Matthew Paul Turner’s honest—and frequently hilarious—musings will strike a chord. Straightforward and amusing, Hear No Evil is Turner’s “life soundtrack,” a compilation of engaging personal stories about how music—and music’s ability to transform—has played a key role in his spiritual life. Groove along on his journey as young evangelical Turner attends forbidden contemporary Christian concerts, moves to “Music City” Nashville, and dreams of becoming the Michael Jackson of Christian music. Cosmic and compelling, keen and funny, every page is a new encounter with the people, places, and experiences that have taught the music-editor-turned-author some new things about God, forced him out of his comfort zone, and introduced him to a fresh view of grace along the way. I don't normally read Christian non-fiction but I have been on a memoir kick lately and also I am a h...

"Hello, I'm Nina Parker.and I'm an alcoholic." For Nina, even in recovery, the truth of the declaration has demolished her hopes and condemned her to return to the town she ran away from nearly two decades earlier-Abbey Hills, Missouri. But the place she once called home is no safe haven. A ritualistic-style murder. Animals disappearing from the Ozark reserve where Nina works, and turning up slaughtered. And someone-or some thing-watching Nina. Wanting her. Stalking her with a 250-year-old desire that burns like a raging wildfire. Nina's ex-husband Hunt shows up, hoping to protect Nina and Megan, the angry teenage daughter who followed her to Missouri. But another man has entered the picture, testing Nina as she attempts to walk the tightrope of recovery-and the power of thirst. Much more than Nina Parker's love hangs in the balance. The battle between love and obsession is destined to unfold to its startling, unforgettable end. I want to first start off by sa...

When the storybook-perfect Janvier family temporarily "adopts" their teenaged niece, Tally, they assume they'll be helping her. But when Tally befriends her cousin, Chase, she soon realizes that he badly needs encouragement, too. When the troubled teens interview two holocaust survivors for a sociology project, will they trigger the healing process that everybody needs? Susan Meissner is one of the most prolific authors that I have ever read. Whenever someone asks me to recommend a new author or some books to them, I ALWAYS include her on that list. Every single one of her books have been wonderful reads that are not only entertaining but though provoking and highly impacting. In fact, there have only been two books in the past five years that have made me actually cry: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner. That's who much her books have affected me. So as always I was beyond thrilled that she had a new book out. This b...

Beth Hertzler works alongside her beloved Aunt Lizzy in their dry goods store, and serving as contact of sorts between Amish craftsmen and Englischers who want to sell the Plain people’s wares. But remorse and loneliness still echo in her heart everyday as she still wears the dark garb, indicating mourning of her fiancé. When she discovers a large, intricately carved scene of Amish children playing in the snow, something deep inside Beth’s soul responds and she wants to help the unknown artist find homes for his work–including Lizzy’s dry goods store. But she doesn’t know if her bishop will approve of the gorgeous carving or deem it idolatry. Lizzy sees the changes in her niece when Beth shows her the woodworking, and after Lizzy hunts down Jonah, the artist, she is all the more determined that Beth meets this man with the hands that create healing art. But it’s not that simple–will Lizzy’s elaborate plan to reintroduce her niece to love work? Will Jonah be able to offer Beth the sleig...

Having earned her chef's hat, Lexi Stuart bids au revoir to her glamorous and deliciously satisfying pastry mentorship outside of Paris and returns to her hometown of Seattle, Washington. There, she finds life unexpectedly complicated. She's put in charge of a high-end catering bakery called Bijoux, which should be her dream job, but there's a catch: She has to make this lavish bakery into a successful business in just a few, short months, which will require more than her ability to make an amazing wedding cake. In over her head and at a loss for creative marketing ideas, Lexi isn't sure what this recipe for success needs to be. Stir in a complicated relationship with her French beau Philippe and his daughter, Celine, then add a dash of romance with down-to-earth lawyer Dan, and life suddenly contains more ooh la la than Lexi can handle. If you have been a reader of this blog for a while, then you know that I absolutely adore this series. If not, then now you know that...

With a freshly broken heart, Gretchen Hanover swaps her wedding plans for home improvement shows---she's going to flip a house! But when the place turns out to be in worse condition than she realized, her retired contractor father needs help and calls in carpenter Noah Campbell. A whimsical look at building relationships and renovating hearts! If you are a fan of the HGTV channel, you will love this book. I myself have only watched a couple episodes of some of the shows, usually while I'm channel surfing. My mother became a fan of the channel after staying with us one weekend and proceeded to watch over 5 hours straight of shows. This book focuses on the art of house flipping, where a person buys a house usually in disarray, renovates it completely and then goes back and sells it to make a profit. Gretchen seems to make a rash decision to pursue a dream of becoming a house flipper and uses up most of her savings to buy a decrepit house. Unfortunately things don't go as...

One of the hardest books I've ever read Hannah Lapp has grown up in the Old Order Amish ways but has decided she wants to break free. She finds this opportunity when her Mennonite boyfriend proposes to her and she accepts. But before she can rejoice in the prospect of a new life, an unthinkable incident happens to her. To make matters worse, her whole family has seemed to turn against her, offering her no help in her tragic situation. Worse yet, she is not able to contact her fiance to tell her what happened, causing him to think she wants to end the relationship. Just when Hannah thinks nothing could go worse, another event takes place that makes her young life become even more painful than it should be. This was probably one of the most difficult books I've ever had to read. Normally it'll take me a couple days to a week to finish a book. However this book took me a month and a half to finish. I usually devour Amish fiction like there's no tomorrow. It's o...

I'm giving away a brand new copy of today's book! Leave a comment with your email address so I can contact you if you win. I'll pick a name and announce the wi nner on Monday, October 27. US addresses only. Good luck! An American Girl in Paris Bonjour! Lexi Stuart has traded Seattle for France and is now working in a French bakery while going to culinary school. She has to put up with snobby coworkers and backstabbing classmates. Still she's also having the time of her life, drinking in French culture and eating chouquettes. This is an experience of a lifetime for her and it's one she'll never forget. It also doesn't hurt that she's caught the eye of the shop owner's son Philippe with his adorable daughter. Then Lexi's given the opportunity to stay on in France or go back home in Seattle where another suitor Dan is waiting. Which will she end up choosing? This book is everything you could possibly want for a good read. Engaging storyline, del...