When Calls the Heart-Troubled Hearts DVD-A Review

ABOUT WHEN CALLS THE HEART-TROUBLED HEARTS
From celebrated author Janette Oke (The  Love Comes Softly series) comes a rigorous and romantic adventure as epic as the wide frontier.  Erin Krakow (Army Wives), Daniel Lissing  (Eye Candy), Jack Wagner (Melrose Place) and  Lori Loughlin (Full House, 90210) star in  When Calls The Heart, “a beautiful story with roots in relationships, self-empowerment, and the enduring power of love” (Common Sense Media).

Big revelations are in store for Hope Valley as Elizabeth moves into her own row house, dismaying Jack, who has been planning to build a new home for the both of them. Rosemary discovers that Lee has taken out a loan and worries that he is in financial difficulties.  And Jesse, the young drifter who works in  Abigail’s kitchen, has information that could ruin Pastor Frank’s good standing in Hope Valley,  and begins his plan to extort the pastor with an  old “Wanted” poster…


Actors: Daniel Lissing, Erin Krakow
Directors: Neill Fearnley
Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Number of discs: 1
Rated:
 NR
 Not Rated
Studio: Shout! Factory
DVD Release Date: April 19, 2016
Run Time: 89 minutes

MY REVIEW
  I just love the When Calls the Heart series. This is Season 3 and Troubled Hearts is Movie 2. I look forward to each and every one of the shows. Just wholesome, interesting, pure enjoyment in each show.
  So many things are going on that you are never bored and you love the show so much you don’t want it to end.
  Jack and Elizabeth are both looking to the future in getting houses of their own. Rosemary is trying to be a part of Lee’s life, but she just gets things are mixed up. Another really exciting part is when the new boy Jesse is trying to cause trouble with Frank and is given an old wanted poster.
   I really like and enjoy this series. It’s hard to have favorites, but I really like Pastor Frank, Rosemary and Lee. Of course the best ones are Jack and Elizabeth.
  Truly a wonderful, entertaining show full of love, surprises and adventure. You never know what will happen next. Highly recommended. The whole family will love this series.

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“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one of the products  mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Bee-Friendly Garden by Kate Frey and Gretchen LeBuhn A Review

ABOUT THE BEE-FRIENDLY GARDEN

For every gardener who cares about the planet, this guide to designing a bee garden helps you create a stunningly colorful, vibrant, healthy habitat that attracts both honeybees and native bees.

In The Bee-Friendly Garden, award-winning garden designer Kate Frey and bee expert Gretchen LeBuhn provide everything you need to know to create a dazzling garden that helps both the threatened honeybee and our own native bees. No matter how small or large your space, and regardless of whether you live in the city, suburbs, or country, just a few simple changes to your garden can fight the effects of colony collapse disorder and the worldwide decline in bee population that threatens our global food chain. There are many personal benefits of having a bee garden as well! Bee gardens:

· contain a gorgeous variety of flowers
· bloom continuously throughout the seasons
· are organic, pesticide-free, and ecologically sustainable
· develop healthy and fertile soil
· attract birds, butterflies, and other beneficial insects
· increase the quantity of your fruit and vegetable harvest
· improve the quality, flavor, and size of your produce

Illustrated with spectacular full-color photos, The Bee-Friendly Garden debunks myths about bees, explains seasonal flower progression, and provides detailed instructions for nest boxes and water features. From “super blooming” flowers to regional plant lists and plants to avoid, The Bee-Friendly Garden is an essential tool for every gardener who cares about the planet and wants to make their yard a welcoming habitat for nature’s most productive pollinator.


Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Ten Speed Press (February 9, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1607747634
ISBN-13: 978-1607747635
Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

KATE FREY is an international garden designer and consultant specializing in sustainable, insect-hospitable landscaping and small farms. She won two gold medals at the Chelsea Garden Show in London for ecologically themed gardens and is a popular speaker at garden shows and clubs. She has written for Gardens Illustrated and Pacific Horticulture magazines, and lives in Hopland, CA. Learn more at freygardens.com.

GRETCHEN LEBUHN is a professor of biology at San Francisco State University and the author/editor of two books on pollinators, Field Guide to the Common Bees of California and Attracting Native Pollinators. She is the founder and director of The Great Sunflower Project (www.greatsunflower.org), a national citizen science program designed to gather information about bee diversity and activity.

MY REVIEW

  The Bee-Friendly Garden is an amazing book. Full of useful information for the gardener and lovers of fruits, flowers and trees.
  Some of the chapter titles are Plants for Your Bee-Friendly Garden, Bee Garden Basics, Designing Your Bee Garden.
   You will learn about the different kinds of bees and what they like and don’t like in a garden. What plants they pollinate.
  I was amazed at two pictures in this book which told about the produce choices with bees and produce choices without bees.  An remarkable difference. It would be a very bland earth without bees.
  I think this book is so good to help us realize we need our bee friends. God put them on the earth for a reason and they should remain.
  In the back of this book it tells of different projects you can join and gives you a great list of recourses. A great book to have in any library.

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Thanks to WaterBrookMultnomah for providing this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

If I Run by Terri Blackstock A Review

ABOUT IF I RUN
Casey knows the truth. But it won’t set her free.


Casey Cox’s DNA is all over the crime scene. There’s no use talking to police; they’ve failed her abysmally before. She has to flee before she’s arrested . . . or worse. The truth doesn’t matter anymore.


But what is the truth? That’s the question haunting Dylan Roberts, the war-weary veteran hired to find Casey. PTSD has marked him damaged goods, but bringing Casey back can redeem him. Though the crime scene seems to tell the whole story, details of the murder aren’t adding up.


Casey Cox doesn’t fit the profile of a killer. But are Dylan’s skewed perceptions keeping him from being objective? If she isn’t guilty, why did she run?


Unraveling her past and the evidence that condemns her will take more time than he has, but as Dylan’s damaged soul intersects with hers, he is faced with two choices: the girl who occupies his every thought is a psychopathic killer . . . or a selfless hero. And the truth could be the most deadly weapon yet.

File Size: 2088 KB
Print Length: 319 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
Publisher: Zondervan (February 16, 2016)
Publication Date: February 16, 2016
Sold by: HarperCollins Publishing
Language: English
ASIN: B010RB5ZRY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Terri Blackstock has sold over seven million books worldwide and is a New York Times bestselling author. She is the award-winning author of Intervention, Vicious Cycle, and Downfall, as well as such series as Cape Refuge, Newpointe 911, Sun Coast Chronicles, and the Restoration Series. Visit her website at www.terriblackstock.com.



MY REVIEW
  If I Run by Terri Blackstock is such an brilliant novel. Those of us who love to read will read from seasoned authors to newbie’s, but if you want to read a novel written by someone who is beyond all others read Terri Blackstocks books. She is far ahead of all of the others.
  In If I Run the characters are so well developed and the way she describes things just makes it feel like you are right  there.
  Casey finds her very good friend dead and that’s not the first time she has come upon someone who was murdered. Since she was young when she saw her dad hanging no one will believe her that he was murdered and didn’t commit suicide.
  So Casey flees, because she knows she will be blamed for this murder, because someone is trying to frame her.
  You will really be amazed at how she eludes the police and the things she has to go through. She so much wants to tell someone who will listen to her what really happened, but no one believes.
  None of Casey’s friends or family think she committed the murder, because she is such a sweet, loving, caring person.
  Dylan has been hired to find her. He was a friend of the murdered victim and just came out of the war. He knows how to find people. He investigates her friends, family and he starts to have doubts.
  It’s amazing at how this novel ends and I loved it and can’t wait for book two. I very highly recommend If I Run by Terri Blackstock. An author worth reading.

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I received my free copy from Net Galley for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

Traces of Guilt by Dee Henderson A Review

ABOUT TRACES OF GUILT
Evie Blackwell loves her life as an Illinois State Police detective . . . mostly. She's very skilled at investigations and has steadily moved up through the ranks. She would like to find Mr. Right, but she has a hard time imagining how marriage could work, considering the demands of her job.

Gabriel Thane grew up in Carin County and is now its sheriff, a job he loves. Gabe is committed to upholding the law and cares deeply for the residents he's sworn to protect. He too would like to find a lifetime companion, a marriage like his parents have. . . .

When Evie arrives in Carin, Illinois, it's to help launch a new task force focused on unsolved crimes across the state. She will work with the sheriff's department on a couple of its most troubling missing-persons cases. As she studies old evidence to pull out a few tenuous new leads, she unearths surprising connections. One way or another, she knows Gabriel Thane and his family will be key to the answers she seeks.

File Size: 3203 KB
Print Length: 401 pages
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (May 3, 2016)
Publication Date: May 3, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B01CRHOTFA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dee Henderson is the author of numerous novels, including Unspoken, Jennifer: An O’Malley Love Story, Full Disclosure, and the acclaimed O’Malley series. Her books have won or been nominated for several prestigious industry awards, such as the RITA Award, the Christy Award, and the ECPA Gold Medallion. Visit her at DeeHenderson.com.





MY REVIEW
  Traces of Guilt by Dee Henderson is such an excellent novel. I think this would be an excellent  beginning of a series of the Thane brothers. Each book I read of Dee’s just gets better and better. I love her style of writing. In this novel you meet some new characters but also get  reacquainted with some old ones. Which is something I love. It is always nice to find out what some of our old friends are up to now.
  This book is like three stories in one. It covers the cold cases, the searching for a woman’s parents that left her with an Uncle when she was small, and the telling of why a woman doesn’t think a relationship with one of the Thane brothers will work, because of her past. Each story on it’s own is very interesting.
      The prominent story is of  Evie and she is a very smart detective that comes up with all kinds of new ideas to try and solve cold cases. I really did enjoy reading about her. The cold cases she is trying to solve are :A deputy, his wife and eleven-year old son, disappeared. And in an unrelated case, a six-year-old girl was abducted from a hotel.
  I like Gabriel Thane so much because he loves his family, his job and the people around him, mostly his faith in God is the best part of his life. He is the small town sheriff that helps Evie and keeps his town together.
  Love this book and I highly recommend it for you reading enjoyment.

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I received my free copy from Net Galley for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

Anchored by Kayla Aimee~A Review~ Love This Book!

ABOUT ANCHORED
You count a pregnancy by weeks and Kayla Aimee had only ticked off 24 of the 40 when she unexpectedly went into labor. She thought her church upbringing had prepared her for every circumstance but when tragedy struck and threatened to take the life of her newborn daughter, it felt as though once solid ground had turned to glass beneath her feet, destined to shatter everything she held sacred.

When swept into a story of suffering, we all find ourselves vulnerable, questioning everything we thought we knew as we wonder, “Where is God in this?” With everything feeling as fragile as her one and a half pound daughter, Kayla finds herself asking that same question as she faces her greatest fear: that she may have finally become a mother just to lose her only child.

Both poignant and humorous, Anchored recounts Kayla’s gripping story of learning to navigate her newfound motherhood in the most unexpected of ways, from holidays in the hospital and middle-of-the-night phone calls to the joy of coming home. With vulnerability and plenty of wit, Kayla lays bare her struggle to redefine her faith, her marriage, and herself within the context of a tragedy she never saw coming. For anyone who has felt their faith in God falter, Anchored extends a gentle invitation to join her as she uncovers a hope that holds

File Size: 3109 KB
Print Length: 208 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1433686104
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group (June 3, 2015)
Publication Date: June 3, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B00YVNLI76

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kayla Aimee is a writer, mother and spirited southern girl who spends her days uncovering hope and humor in unexpected places. As the mother of a 25 week micro-preemie, she is passionate about sharing stories of embracing hope in motherhood and offering support to parents of preemies.

Her poignant but humorous storytelling style has firmly established her as an influential faith and family blogger and her work has been featured on The TODAY Show and The Huffington Post as well as several other national media outlets.

Kayla Aimee makes her home and garden in the honeysuckle drenched hills of northern Georgia with her husband and their daughter, Scarlette.

You can connect with her at her personal blog kaylaaimee.com, on Facebook at /kaylaaimee, and on Twitter @kaylaaimee.

MY REVIEW
  Anchored by Kayla Aimee is such a beautiful, inspiring true story. I know it has and will bring hope and peace to many mothers/fathers who have babies premature.
  In this beautiful story little Scarlette was only a 25 week preemie when she was born, you will be amazed and shocked at the things a premature baby has to go through.
  One thing that really stuck with me is little Scarlette quit breathing so many times that she had to be connected to a machine that shook her all of the time to keep her breathing. She had broken wrists because of so many medical procedures. Kayla said that her baby only weighed about as much as six sticks of butter and fit in the palm of your hand. Her ears were only holes because she wasn’t fully developed.
  This precious woman didn’t want to leave her daughters side and she didn’t very often.  Several times her insights helped her daughter that a nurse may have missed.
  Besides the regular reasons of having a premature baby, like praying they live and have a normal life,  there are also the financial and personal problems. Many families split up when they go through this.
   I admire Kayla and her husband for all they did and for writing this book. It’s a book ever person should read. Kayla grew so much closer to the Lord and He is always there for her and all.
  I follow her on face book and she is pregnant now with her second child and is 36 weeks along. She has been on bed rest for a while.
   Highly recommend you read this precious book.

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I received my free copy from Net Galley for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

Stay With Me by Carolyn Astfalk A Review

ABOUT STAY WITH ME
With her sister Abby’s encouragement, Rebecca has moved out of their overbearing father’s home. When a chance encounter with Chris ends with an invitation, Rebecca says yes. The authentic way Chris lives his life attracts Rebecca and garners her affection.

Chris loves Rebecca and her innocence, but he’s confounded by the emotional scars she bears from her parents and an attempted assault. Her father’s disdain for Chris’s faith and career only make matters worse.

With the counsel of their friend Father John, can Rebecca and Chris overcome every obstacle and bridge the deepening gulf between them and her dad? Or will a crucial lapse in judgment and its repercussion end their relationship?

File Size: 2009 KB
Print Length: 235 pages
Publisher: FQ Publishing (October 1, 2015)
Publication Date: October 1, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B015GAH77M

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carolyn Astfalk lives in Hershey, Pennsylvania where the scent on the morning breeze carries either chocolate or manure depending on wind direction and atmospheric conditions.

A Pittsburgh native, Carolyn carries her Yinzer card with pride, having interned at Pittsburgh's iconic TV and radio stations KDKA and WDVE. She is a graduate of Duquesne University, where she majored in Latin and Broadcast Journalism.

A cradle Catholic, Carolyn was raised mainly at church basement rummage sales and other parish-sponsored events. She worked her way up to "pup girl" at weekly Bingo and even served as a parish organist for several years. Having reached the apex of parish ministry, she moved to the state capital to advance her churchy career.

Carolyn served as communications director and registered lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference for a decade, advocating for religious liberty; prolife, pro-family issues, Catholic education, and healthcare, among others.

Since then, she has been a stay-at-home mom to her four children. Most days she can be found changing diapers, wiping up spills, folding laundry, and tapping furiously on her laptop.

Carolyn is a member of the Catholic Writers Guild, Pennwriters, the Pennsylvania Public Relations Society, and 10 Minute Novelists. She blogs at My Scribbler's Heart.

MY REVIEW
    Stay With Me by Carolyn Astfalk is her first novel. Some parts of this book I like, but other parts are disgusting and very distasteful.
   I read the book because I thought it was a Christian book. It is NOT a clean Christian book. I know we all have temptations and sometimes we fall, but so many things in this book aren’t fit to read. There is no need to write about every detail. Stay With Me is full of mature scenes that shouldn’t be in a Christian novel. Actually it was quite gross.
  Rebecca's sister has the most filthy mouth ever and her dad is a mean old ogre.
 It also seems like the author had an plan to defend the Catholic church against Christianity. I got the feeling that she believes you can’t be a good Christian unless you are Catholic.
  I think this book would have been a winner if the sex scenes were left out. The story is sweet and full of promise if it were more tastefully put together.
  I don’t recommend that you read this book.

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Thank you to the  Author/Publicist  for providing this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255