Review: Mama Needs a Reboot

Mama Needs A Reboot: Getting Out of the Rut and Bringing Purpose Into Your Home by Allie Casazza

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Mama Needs A Reboot is written by a wife and stay-at-home mom of three small children, who went from depressed, overwhelmed, and on the verge of snapping to truly discovering her purpose in this beautiful but simple life. This book is for the mom who desires to stop barely getting by, start living God's purpose for her life, get out of survival mode, and get out of that rut!
This little book really packs a punch. In it, the author goes over each section of the life of a mom and homemaker, giving simple, effective, and fresh suggestions that will lead you out of your rut and into a happier, more organized life.
Some of the topics covered are
tackling overwhelming housework
simple health and fitness strategies to kick fatigue
what to do when you're about to snap
coming into your role as prayer warrior in your home
learning to give and receive grace during bad days
and more.

-- Allie goes through all the things us mamas need to do to reboot ourselves and our lives, with God's help of course! This book is small, but lots of wisdom nuggets in it!

Mama needs to: get it together, more coffee, pray, be ready, clean, take a time out, needs some me time, make some changes, needs some grace and needs some Jesus.

All of these chapters are so practical and I think we should all reboot every so often. Even though my kids are leaving the nest, this book is still so pracitical, I think in almost every season of our lives, us mamas will find wisdom in this book. You can find more of this book on the website at: http://mamaneedsareboot.blogspot.com/

You can also find more of Allie on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/thepurposefu...

I have been an avid follower of Allie. She brings wisdom, some fashion and hair advice that is much needed to this mama and her kidlets are ADORABLE!!!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Review: The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress - Ariel Lawhon

The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A tantalizing reimagining of a scandalous mystery that rocked the nation in 1930-Justice Joseph Crater's infamous disappearance-as seen through the eyes of the three women who knew him best.

They say behind every great man, there's a woman. In this case, there are three. Stella Crater, the judge's wife, is the picture of propriety draped in long pearls and the latest Chanel. Ritzi, a leggy showgirl with Broadway aspirations, thinks moonlighting in the judge's bed is the quickest way off the chorus line. Maria Simon, the dutiful maid, has the judge to thank for her husband's recent promotion to detective in the NYPD. Meanwhile, Crater is equally indebted to Tammany Hall leaders and the city's most notorious gangster, Owney "The Killer" Madden.

On a sultry summer night, as rumors circulate about the judge's involvement in wide-scale political corruption, the Honorable Joseph Crater steps into a cab and disappears without a trace. Or does he?

After 39 years of necessary duplicity, Stella Crater is finally ready to reveal what she knows. Sliding into a plush leather banquette at Club Abbey, the site of many absinthe-soaked affairs and the judge's favorite watering hole back in the day, Stella orders two whiskeys on the rocks-one for her and one in honor of her missing husband. Stirring the ice cubes in the lowball glass, Stella begins to tell a tale-of greed, lust, and deceit. As the novel unfolds and the women slyly break out of their prescribed roles, it becomes clear that each knows more than she has initially let on.

With a layered intensity and prose as effervescent as the bubbly that flows every night, The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress is a wickedly entertaining historical mystery that will transport readers to a bygone era with tipsy spins through subterranean jazz clubs and backstage dressing rooms. But beneath the Art Deco skyline and amid the intoxicating smell of smoke and whiskey, the question of why Judge Crater disappeared lingers seductively until a twist in the very last pages.

-- I believe that if a book makes you want to know more about the subject, the author has done a fantastic job! I think Ms Lawhon did a fantastic job with this mystery. I really enjoyed getting pieces of each character. I didn't have a favorite, I loved each woman. I really enjoy the mystery, and even better since it is based on true facts.

We will probably never know what really happened to the judge but Lawhon did a fabulous job with maybe guessing based on true accounts. I think she definitely has a gift and I hope she continues to write more!



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Review: A Place at the Table - Susan Rebecca White

A Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A rich, beautiful novel about three unlikely, complex characters who meet in a chic Manhattan café and realize they must sacrifice everything they ever knew or cared about to find authenticity, fulfillment, and love.

A Place at the Table tells the story of three richly nuanced characters whose paths converge in a chic Manhattan café: Bobby, a gay Southern boy who has been ostracized by his family; Amelia, a wealthy Connecticut woman whose life is upended when a family secret finally comes to light; and Alice, an African-American chef whose heritage is the basis of a famous cookbook but whose past is a mystery to those who know her.

As it sweeps from a freed-slave settlement in 1920s North Carolina to the Manhattan of the deadly AIDs epidemic of the 1980s to today’s wealthy suburbs, A Place at the Table celebrates the healing power of food and the magic of New York as three seekers come together in the understanding that when you embrace the thing that makes you different, you become whole.

-- I started reading this book, and I was in total heaven. Then we switched characters and I was sad for the loss of the last one. Then halfway through, I could start to see the thread weaving the stories together and I whispered to myself, bloody brilliant!! It was like a little petit four, where you bite into it, get one flavor and then halfway through the bite, something else that is even more divine shines through, and then the last bite really just made it over the top! That is the way this book is! All the characters are so three dimensional, I thought any minute Alice would come through the pages.

And who doesn't love cooking in a book? Talk about making me drool! At the back, there is a recipe for Mittie Cumbie Wade's Sour Cream Pound Cake, seems to die for! There is also a book discussion and a chat with the author, which I always love, gives the story behind the story.

This was my FIRST book by Ms White, but it won't be my last! Thank you for such a wonderful read.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.



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Review: Rachel - Jill Eileen Smith

Rachel by Jill Eileen Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Can true love overcome a legacy of betrayal?

Rachel wants nothing more than for her older half sister Leah to wed and move out of their household. Leah wishes her father would find a good man who would love her alone. Unbeknownst to either of them, Jacob is making his way to their home, trying to escape a past laced with deceit and find the future God has promised him.

But the past comes back to haunt Jacob when he finds himself on the receiving end of treachery. The man who wanted only one woman ends up with sisters who have never gotten along and now must spend the rest of their lives sharing a husband. In the power struggles that follow, only one woman will triumph . . . or will she?

Combining meticulous research with her own imaginings, bestselling author Jill Eileen Smith not only tells one of the most famous love stories of all time but will manage to surprise even those who think they know the story inside and out.

-- I knew a little about Rachel/Jacob/Leah but this book really made me think. Rachel and Jacob were in love. They thought Rachel's father had promised to give Rachel to Jacob after working seven years for him. But Laban is sneaky and he makes Jacob seal the deal with his older unmarried daughter, so Jacob has to keep Leah too. So now he has to work seven more years for Laban to give him Rachel too.

This story is fascinating. I really enjoyed it, for the most part. It seemed in areas to drag for me, so that is why I gave it four stars instead of five. I did enjoy it though, but sometimes, I wondered if it had a modern touch, rather than what they really did and thought? That put me off a bit as well. Team Leah here though. I thought that Rachel used her wild ways a bit too much!

I received a copy of this book, in exchange for an honest opinion.





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Review: Bounce Back by Julie Clinton

Bounce Back: When Your Heart is Empty and Your Dreams are Lost by Julie Clinton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Brokenhearted, disappointed, and wanting more from life—if we are honest, most of us have endured a season or two or incredible difficulty. Julie Clinton sees and hears the needs and concerns of women all over America on a regular basis. She shows the way forward when all seems lost. In this transparent and encouraging book she walks beside her readers, revealing three steps to a more fulfilled life: breathe, believe, and bounce back. Clinton provides wisdom and encouragement to help women rediscover their joy and strength.

-- 1 Peter 5:10 After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Julie Clinton has tons of wonderful wisdom nuggets in this small but wise book. One of the best quotes I think was, "People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges (Joseph Fort Newton). Isn't that the truth. Julie just describes a lot of different scenarios in which we find ourselves in and wisdom nuggets. The reflection guide at the end I do believe is very thorough, but won't take a lot of time for you to work through. This book is perfect for a gift as well!

This book is so worth the read, underline it, do the exercises. I promise you will BOUNCE back!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.



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Review: Forget Me Not by Miralee Ferrell

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20928497-forget-me-not" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px">https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1393473583m/20928497.jpg
" />https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20928497-forget-me-not">Forget Me Not by https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/975649.Miralee_Ferrell">Miralee Ferrell
My rating: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/866756520">5 of 5 stars


Can a Lost Love be Redeemed?

Seven years ago, Julia McKenzie rejected the man she loved, wanting to experience more of life. Now, at the age of twenty-four, she regrets that decision. What will Seth think of her, when they encounter one another hundreds of miles from home? Will the man she cared for understand the direction her life has taken and love her in spite of her choices?

Pastor Seth Russell has never completely forgotten the girl he once courted. When she shows up in his new home of Baker City, all those feelings return. But why is she sneaking around town late at night? Even more important, will she reject him and break his heart again?

--That is the question isn't it? Julia becomes a really likeable character right away, she is very person's heroine, helping others less fortunate. All of our old favorite characters make an appearance, which you just love, but we learn a bit from some new ones, ones I hope continue to be in the series...

Julia and Seth were once an item, but Julia left abruptly and Seth was always wondering why. Will they recognize each other and rekindle the love? There are so many themes going on here, grace, mercy and forgiveness abound..

You will LOVE this book! This is the best one yet. Each book I believe stands alone but I think if you read them in order, you will love them that much more! Enjoy, I think it will be a blessing to you, much like it was to me!

I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


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Review: The Swan Gondola

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18079482-the-swan-gondola" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Swan Gondola" border="0" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1387171955m/18079482.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18079482-the-swan-gondola">The Swan Gondola</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/131724.Timothy_Schaffert">Timothy Schaffert</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/765710846">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
A lush and thrilling romantic fable about two lovers set against the scandalous burlesques, midnight séances, and aerial ballets of the 1898 Omaha World’s Fair. <br><br> On the eve of the 1898 Omaha World’s Fair, Ferret Skerritt, ventriloquist by trade, con man by birth, isn’t quite sure how it will change him or his city. Omaha still has the marks of a filthy Wild West town, even as it attempts to achieve the grandeur and respectability of nearby Chicago. But when he crosses paths with the beautiful and enigmatic Cecily, his whole purpose shifts and the fair becomes the backdrop to their love affair.<br><br> One of a traveling troupe of actors that has descended on the city, Cecily works in the Midway’s Chamber of Horrors, where she loses her head hourly on a guillotine playing Marie Antoinette. And after closing, she rushes off, clinging protectively to a mysterious carpetbag, never giving Ferret a second glance. But a moonlit ride on the swan gondola, a boat on the lagoon of the New White City, changes everything, and the fair’s magic begins to take its effect.<br><br> From the critically acclaimed author of The Coffins of Little Hope, The Swan Gondola is a transporting read, reminiscent of Water for Elephants or The Night Circus.<br><br>-- My thoughts:<br><br>I loved EVERY minute of this book. I stopped and reread sentences and lines, eager for each word, savoring it because it ended way too fast. I loved Ferret. He was a good guy, a little down on his luck. But that seemed like it changed when he met Cecily. I just think everyone should read this book. It is that amazing! I will think about this wonderful read for years to come!<br><br>You start out with Ferret landing at the sister's home, and then we go back, way back to find out why. Why was in he that balloon? I loved the bit of mystery, lots of love, friendship and more in this fabulous book! Read it NOW! You won't be sorry!<br><br>I received this book from Goodreads first read program in exchange for my honest opinion!
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