Glade Expressions(R) - When a great smelling house is just a mist away

I love my Glade Expressions(R) Fragrance Mist. I picked two scents, the cotton and the pineapple mango. Both are great, but the family prefers the cotton. It smells like freshly cleaned laundry! I give this two thumbs up!

The Choice

Only one year after the fated Roe vs. Wade trial, Sandy Lincoln makes a decision that will change her life forever. When the love of her life, the baby's father, refuses to marry her if she will not have an abortion, she leaves her hometown to stay in Atlanta with her Aunt Linda.

Weekdays she attends school, and weekends she travels home to be with her family. On one trip back to Atlanta she stops at a local convenience store. There she meets a woman who warns her of the child she carries. Or, make that children. In a time before sonograms were widely used, this woman predicts that Sandy will give birth to twins. And that she should do what she can to keep them apart. Sandy doesn't have time to process and question what she is told before the woman is suddenly out the door and gone. That one stop set into motion a choice that ripples and changes what could have happened.

Years later, Sandy is presented with a dilemma. One of her students is pregnant and Sandy begins talking the the Spanish-speaking teenager, encouraging her to do what is best for the baby. Meanwhile the school counselor is talking to the girl about doing what seems best for her. The Roe vs Wade trial comes full circle, giving another teenage girl the option to abort her child, refusing it the chance at life.

When Sandy chooses to give up on the teenager and her baby she finds herself in the middle of a court battle, fighting against a pro-choice organization. In the process she meets a young man that could quite possibly be her son, one of the twins she gave birth to so many years ago.

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I received this excellent eBook in exchange for my honest review from Thomas Nelson.

Spring Hope

Libby is running scared. Her life changed the day her mom died. Suddenly she was thrust into the position of woman-of-the-house, cooking and cleaning for her dad. As she grows older, and her body begins to change into that of a young woman, her dad decides to use her to make money, which he quickly gambles away. Libby finally breaks free, disappearing just as winter is on its last leg. She finds herself in a small town, being rescued by a kind stranger. Little does she know that stranger doesn't want her around.

Cody knows her type. The loose women that flock at the local saloon are always asking for trouble, in his book. He doesn't need to know anything else about her. He just wants her gone, and the other prostitutes in the town he helps care for. As deputy, he feels responsible for this town, and its inhabitants. Little does he know how much he should have stopped to listen, instead of judging her first.

I enjoyed reading, and watching the relationship develop between theses two unsuspecting people. With God's grace and mercy evident throughout the story, this book will keep you hooked, looking forward to the "happily ever after".

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I received this complementary book from Charisma, in exchange for my honest review.

Tidewater Inn

Libby fell in love with Tidewater Inn the moment she saw it. She dreamed of restoring the run-down inn, her inheritance, to its former beauty, if she only had the funding. So she decides to sell. But until that happens, Libby finds she has a lot to learn about the father she never knew, the siblings she just met, and the island they call home.

As Libby investigate the house that her father left her in his will, she learns more about him than her mother ever told her growing up. Raised to believe that her father died when she was five, Libby is in shock when she hears that he not only died much later in life, but that he never forgot her and talked about her frequently.

This book holds more than your typical family reunion. Mystery, suspense, romance and a long lost legend  grab your attention and hold you captive with each turn of the page.

I give this book 5 stars; another great novel by Colleen Coble. I would recommend this book to just about anyone, but especially those who love a gripping story that teaches a lesson in trust and love.

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I received this complementary book from Thomas Nelson in exchange for my honest review.

A Simple Autumn

The third book in The Seasons of Lancaster County Series, this book follows the story of the King family. Jonah King, also known as the Quiet One, is learning how to express himself and talk about how he feels. His love for Annie hasn't diminished over the years, even though she never knew it.

At the same time Gabe King is wanting the best of both worlds. Still in his rumspringa, running around years, he enjoys riding on motorbikes. His love for Elsie is also growing stronger and he wants to marry her. He doesn't plan to leave the faith, but he is not ready to give up the motorbikes.

Many times Amish stories seem similar. Some stories seem to go a bit farther and stretch what would really happen in an Amish home. But this book takes the reader into the home of an Amish family. You see the struggles and the joys of each choice that is made, each day that goes by. I enjoyed following the King family in this book.

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I received this complementary E-book from Edelweiss in return for my honest review.

Bees in the Butterfly Garden

Meggie Davenport has been raised as a lady. She has attended boarding school for as long as she can remember, barely seeing her father. Her mother died while she was still young. Her gift for plants and landscaping has proved to be a blessing to those living at the school, as their garden attracts beautiful butterflies.

When Meg's father dies, she is suddenly thrust into a life she was not expecting. Finding out that the father she barely knew had died was a shock. Finding out he was a thief, a very good thief, was even more of a shock. But once she accepts the fact, she starts wondering if she is more like him than he event thought. Perhaps there is a reason she never really felt "at home" living as a lady. Meg decides it is time to prove that she can be as good as her dad; that she could have made him proud, if he would have only given her a chance. 


I give this book two thumbs up. It is imaginative, funny, romantic and teaches a wonderful lesson about Christ's love. Thank you, Tyndale, for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

The Struggle

The Struggle by Wanda E. Brunstetter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hannah is against moving from their home in Pennsylvania. But Timothy is overjoyed and cannot wait to move closer to his bothers. Once in Kentucky Timothy, Hannah and their young daughter Mindy stay with Timothy's brother Samuel and his kinner (children) until they find a house of their own. Hannah makes no attempt to accept the change in her life, choosing instead to find fault at every turn. Her bitter attitude turns others away, and she has a hard time fitting in.

When a tragedy happens that shakes Hannah's life, she runs home to Pennsylvania. Safe in her parent's home, Hannah allows the bitterness to develop, until she realizes it is not the only thing growing inside of her. Hannah faces a choice. She must keep the pregnancy from her husband, or find the strength to forgive him, and herself, and move on.

For more on this book, and others by Wanda Brunstetter, please visit her website. You can also see a video preview of this book here. 


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I received this eBook from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

View all my reviews

Through Rushing Water

Sophia has big plans. She wants to make a difference in the world and from her perspective the path is clear. She is going to marry a congressman and fulfill her destiny by working alongside him. But her perspective changes when the congressman proposes to another young lady.

Instead, Sophia finds herself in Dakota territory teaching Indian children. What starts out as a trial turns into a blessing. And Sophia's pleas to God for a different teaching post turn to pleas for shoes and clothing for the people she has fallen in love with.

Until Sophia sees the big picture, she doesn't realize how much of a difference she is making in the world, especially to those around her. With her letters to congressmen and lawmakers pleading for better treatment of the Indians and her tender touch to those who need her, Sophia plants seeds that will grow to fruition long after she has left the Dakotas.

I enjoyed reading this book and following along in Sophia's journey. While playing in the water with her new friends, Sophia finds herself almost paralyzed by the water rushing past her. Will, a good friend and local carpenter, tells her to ignore the rushing water. Sophia uses that advice throughout her days, ignoring the persistent problems rushing by and focusing on the goal.

I received this complimentary book in exchange for my honest review.

Annie's Truth

Adoptions happen all the time. Some people grow up knowing they were adopted, some don't. Adoptions are not always particular, the adopted child is sometimes raised in a different culture than their birth parent's were raised in. This is the case with Annie Beiler.

Annie was raised Amish. It's all she knew. It's all she wanted to know. Until the day she found out she was adopted. Her daed found her in a field, as an infant. He and his wife took her in and raised her as their own. She became the first in a line of children, all raised the same way. Once Annie found out she was adopted, her life changed, altered somehow. She left her Amish family and started a journey of self-discovery, to find the truth in her past, present, and future.

Annie's truth, and her search to find it, caused division in her life and with her family and friends. But as she learns to accept who she is, she finds that the truth she seeks has been right there all along.

I received this complementary book from Charisma House in exchange for my honest review.

Covenant Child

Raised as paupers, Lizzie and Kara had no idea they could have been raised as wealthy princesses. When Amanda, their stepmother and widow of their late father, reaches out to them, they cower in fear, following the advice and stories their maternal grandparents have taught them their entire lives. Amanda leaves, hurt and betrayed, but determined to love the girls, even from a distance.

When the girls are old enough to make decisions for themselves, Amanda reappears in their lives. She gives them the option to live with her and learn how to run the family business, taking hold of their inheritance, the inheritance she has been keeping safe for them all these years. Or they can choose to believe the lies they were told and ignore her.

Terri Blackstock does an excellent job portraying the love and acceptance that God has for us in this book. Jesus has our inheritance, given to us by the Father. He is taking care of it, maintaining it, until the day that we each chose, on our own, to follow Him and quit believing the lies the enemy has been telling us. I enjoyed this book, as a fictionally story and a Christian-lifestyle parallel. 

I received this complementary eBook from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest review. To purchase this book, please visit ChristianBook.com, where my review is posted. You can also view the book itself on their site.