Speak Up Saturday Book Review–Accused by Janice Cantore

It’s Speak Up Saturday! This is one of the books that I got from NetGalley that I was trying to read on my phone (4.3” screen) with difficulty but I flew through on my newly purchased Kindle :)

From the Publisher:

Detective Carly Edwards hates working in juvenile—where the brass put her after an officer-involved shooting—and longs to be back on patrol. So when a troubled youth, Londy Atkins, is arrested for the murder of the mayor and Carly is summoned to the crime scene, she's eager for some action. Carly presses Londy for a confession but he swears his innocence, and despite her better judgment, Carly is inclined to believe him. Yet homicide is convinced of his guilt and is determined to convict him.
Carly's ex-husband and fellow police officer, Nick, appears to be on her side. He's determined to show Carly that he's a changed man and win her back, but she isn't convinced he won't betray her again.
As the investigation progresses, Carly suspects a cover-up and strikes out on her own, uncertain whom she can trust. But when danger mounts, she begins to wonder if she made the right choice.

Release Date: February 1, 2012 You can preorder on Amazon or ChristianBook.com now though!

This book was a fun, easy read. It kept you guessing, but gave enough information to keep you reading too. The story was solid, yet not too heavy. I don’t watch TV, but I’m guessing that this is what the ever-popular police dramas would be like if they were cleaner and had a Christian bent to them.

The characters were well enough developed. A few of the supporting characters were very very shallow, but the main characters were personable and easy to relate to. The author took enough time to explain their characters without losing me in the details.

The plot was twisty and expanded throughout the story, which kept in interesting. The pace was good, providing enough action that I really wanted to keep reading, yet not too suspenseful or violent.

The ending, which can make or break a book, was good too. It tied up loose ends without spending too much time there. I was glad to hear that this is the first in the Pacific Coast Justice series, because I liked the characters and would love to read more about where they go from here.

Four stars! Fun read, not too long, engaging, yet not overwhelming or overly intellectual.

~S
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NetGalley as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
The links to products are just links, I do not receive any compensation for you clicking or purchasing items though my links.

Speak up Saturday Book Review–Gabby’s Stick-To-It Day by Sheila Walsh

It’s Speak Up Saturday! I bought myself a Kindle this week and have been reading at top speed. I’ve been able to get several books through NetGalley, and I was reading them on my computer or my phone, but the Kindle is sooooo much easier! This one, though, was better on my computer since it’s color and Kahlen and I read it together :)

From the Publisher:
Our favorite little angel is back with more giggles, more fun, and an important message for little girls—don’t give up when things get hard.
Gabby is a little guardian angel with a big job to do! Watching over Sophie is hard work, but Gabby knows that God wants her to stick to it.
Gabby, God’s Little Angel, flies to the rescue as Sophie attempts to help others but has a little trouble sticking with things. Sophie tries to be helpful by washing the family dog for her mom, but she gives up when she’s the one who ends up all wet. She then tries to be kind by reading to her little brother, but he has plans of his own, which include a splash of cereal right in Sophie’s face! When Sophie is ready to quit once again, it’s up to Gabby to encourage her to keep trying and to teach her what the Bible says about perseverance: “We must not become tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9 NCV)


Release Date: March 6, 2012. You can preorder on Amazon or ChristianBook.com now though!
This is a sweet book about not giving up, even when the job is hard. It’s told from the perspective of Gabby, Sophie’s guardian angel. The pictures and the use of interesting fonts and colors kept our attention. The story was well written, short enough to not be boring or trite and long enough to be a good read. The situations that Sophie found herself in were realistic and very easy for Kahlen to relate to.
We enjoyed this book and will seriously consider purchasing  a hardcopy when it comes out in a month!

~S
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NetGalley as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
The links to products are just links, I do not receive any compensation for you clicking or purchasing items though my links.

Wordless Wednesday–January 4–Still Winter??

~S

Linking up at:

Speak up Saturday Book Review–The Canary List by Sigmund Brouwer

It’s Speak Up, um, Tuesday? I’m going to tag all my reviews with Speak Up Saturday, I just got behind this week…

From the Publisher:

Protected by the dark of night, Jaimie Piper runs. But is anywhere safe when Evil is hunting you?

She’s just a twelve year-old girl, bumped around between foster homes and relegated to school classes for challenged kids, those lagging in their test scores or with behavioral issues. But her real problem is that she can sense something the other kids can’t—something dark. Something compelling her to run for her life.

All Crockett Grey wants is to mark the anniversary of his daughter’s death alone.

But when his student Jaimie comes to him, terrified, her need for protection collides with his grief, and a tangled web of bizarre events sends them both spiraling toward destruction.
Crockett’s one hope of getting his life back is to uncover the mysterious secrets of Jaimie’s past and her strange gift. It isn’t long before his discoveries lead him to a darker conspiracy, secrets guarded by the highest seat of power in the world—the Vatican.

I really wanted to like this book. Really. I liked the last book of Sigmund Brouwer’s that I read. I still like his writing style. A lot. This book just didn’t do it for me.

Here’s the thing: the ending was a major let down. But let me back up, start at the beginning and all that.

The book starts out slow, it takes awhile to figure out what the point of the story is, but that’s okay because things are still happening, still moving along. You get the idea that there is a bigger story building than just the individual events that are happening.

The character development is good; there is depth to the main character, Crockett Grey, early on and only gets better from there. The story has twists and supporting characters that kept me reading, late into the night, to get to the end.

BUT, that leads me to the end. It was very disappointing. The loose ends were all tied up, the story came to a conclusion, just not one that I liked. Without giving too much away, it ended on a very un-Christian note. I read the book because it is Christian fiction, and I don’t like being led astray like that.

Interesting? Yes. Attention-keeping? Definitely. Would I recommend? No, no, and nope. *Sigh* Hopefully the next book I read will not leave such a bad taste in my mouth…

~S

It would be a great help to me if you would please rate my review. I get the chance to review more books based on my rating, and there are cool contests and such. Thanks!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Speak Up Saturday Review–Mixbook Invitations

It’s Speak Up, um, Tuesday? I’m going to tag all my reviews with Speak Up Saturday, I just got behind this week…

Have you ever checked out Mixbook? Well, you should!! I was given the opportunity to receive Custom 5x7 Flat Holiday Party Invitations (Set of 30) for my honest review. Since I typically make my own Christmas cards and wasn’t hosting any Christmas parties this year, I was almost stumped as to what to get…then I remembered a party that I *was* hosting!

My sweet girl turned 5 just days before Christmas, so I was able to get these beauties, courtesy of Mixbook!

I thoroughly enjoyed the designing process. Their website is very easy to use and the available stickers and other elements made these very customizable.

Besides invitations, they also offer Photo Books, Digital Scrapbooks, Yearbooks, and more. You can visit them on Facebook or Twitter or just go to their website.

(Why not 5 stars? If I had actually had to pay for these cute cards, they were a bit on the pricey side for what I normally would spend. Everything else was awesome, though!)

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product through Tomoson.com in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

TOS Review–REAL Spanish

It’s Speak Up, um, Tuesday? I’m going to tag all my reviews with Speak Up Saturday, I just got behind this week…

This week, the TOS review is REAL Homeschool Spanish. After the other Spanish program I reviewed, I was feeling rather skeptical and a little frustrated. BUT this product is completely different!

I was given the downloadable version of REAL Homeschool Spanish which included the book (featuring 10 units, 55 vocab clusters and 15 idea sections of ways to further your learning), a 179 page activity book featuring all kinds of activities from word searches, to crosswords, to word scrambles and lots in between, all the audio files you need, an answer guide and the daily curriculum guide/planner.

Each unit is broken up into multiple units and has vocabulary, a conversation, tips to the home educator, and a whole slew of practical ideas, including songs, activities, and more. There is also the activity book, which we did not use because Kahlen does not read yet, so these types of activities are a bit above her for the moment.

The audio included is great; it moves at a good pace and has appropriate inflection. It was interesting to listen to and easy to navigate.

One of the really nice features of this curriculum is the weekly and daily guide worksheets. They provide a place to write out what you are hoping to accomplish that week and how you are going to get there. The idea is NOT to get through one unit per week, it’s simply to get through the material at your and your child’s pace. There are a lot of suggestions and ideas at the beginning of the book as well as on each unit to help the teacher, whether you know any Spanish or not.

Spanish has been the most challenging subject for Kahlen. She gets frustrated with it because she has it in her head that she should just know it instead of it being a learning process. She doesn’t like when she can’t remember the word that we just talked about or what the English translation is. Using this curriculum has decreased the frustration and increased the learning. She has been able to use the vocabulary from the first unit to greet both her grandmas (who speak Spanish) and respond to them as well.

This program is something that I am excited to continue using and can’t wait to see where it will lead us! The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is because the activity book is just not useful for us at this stage, even though the program is marketed toward her age/grade group.

There are number of different option for purchasing REAL Homeschool Spanish from instant downloads (with or without the daily planner) to hard copies with books and CDs so I invite you to visit their purchase page to find out more about products and prices. Currently the download sell for $49.95 and the hard copies sell for $89.95. There are also many samples available on their website.

See what the rest of the crew is saying here.

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Menu Plan Monday–January 2

Oops, kinda took a week (and a half) off from blogging. Tim had from Christmas Eve through today off, and we spent the week cleaning and purging the house. Getting ready for baby, but more immediately, a garage sale inside my house. ANYWAY, I do have a menu plan for this week, and will hopefully get caught up on other posts tomorrow (or at least this week) Brace yourself for reviews, pictures, the last two Countdown to Christmas points, and more.

Mix-it up Monday (something new) ~ Sweet Chicky Nuggets and Sweet Potato Fries 
Taco Tuesday (Mexican or Oriental) ~ Plain Ol’ Tacos 
Wow Wednesday (Date night or something like restaurant food) ~ Grilled Turkey and Cheese with Tomato Soup 
Simple Thursday (Crockpot or less than 30 min prep) ~ Spaghetti and Meat Sauce 
Favorite Friday (A family favorite) ~ Shepherd’s Pie 
Lazy Saturday (leftover buffet) ~ Leftovers
Saucy Sunday (Italian) ~ Chicken Cordon Bleu (IF I can' find my recipe, seems to be MIA)

So, what are you having for dinner this week?
Link up at Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie or leave me a comment!

I have a recipe index, just for recipes that you can find on my blog. You can also get to it by going to the food tab above.

~S