Monday, February 23, 2015

Review: How To Catch a Prince by Rachel Hauck


5 Stars!!!
An excellent conclusion to an absolutely fantastic series!

I admit, I have a soft spot for all things Royal. And I have loved this entire series. I have been looking forward to Prince Stephen's since I first met him in the first book Once Upon A Prince, and I have to say that I was not disappointed! Of course I loved Stephen, his story of believing himself unworthy, not only of anyone's love, but also unworthy of being alive, was incredibly moving. It touched my heart, especially when he finally opened his heart to Jesus. I think all believers have probably gone through a time where they have felt unworthy of God's love, I know I have and that part of the story resonated with me very deeply, and I think will be very relatable to readers. I also loved Corina, she and Stephen were perfect for each other, and I was cheering for them the whole way! 
Every time I finish a Rachel Hauck novel, there is one thought that always goes through my mind: God works in divine, mysterious ways. This is so true in life, and I absolutely love the way this author illustrates it so beautifully in her books! Speaking of which, I loved Adelaide and Brill, they were two of my favorite characters in the whole series! I love this entire series soooo much, and while I was sad to see it end I also thought it was a perfect ending! 
I don't want to risk spoiling anything so I will just say that I loved How to Catch a Prince, and I highly recommend it as well as the entire series! If you like stories about modern day princes and princesses, you should definitely treat yourself to the Royal Weddings Series! 

I was honored to receive a complimentary copy of this book from the author and publisher via Book Look blogger review program in exchange for an honest review. 
Above is my honest review, I was not required to write a positive review.
All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Review: An Uncertain Choice by Jody Hedlund


5 Stars!!!
This was a phenomenal YA debut from Ms. Hedlund! Rosemarie was such a great character, I loved her giving spirit, generous heart, and true compassion and love for others! The writing was so skillfully done that I could feel all of Rosemarie's emotions as she learned what God's plan was for her. I don't want to risk giving away the ending so I will just say that my favorite knight won, I loved everything about him but I especially loved how he encouraged and challenged Rosemarie to push herself outside of her comfort zone, both as a person and as a ruler! I am a lover of all things medieval and this novel did not disappoint, the historical details made me feel that I was really there! I love, love, LOVED An Uncertain Choice! There was not one thing about this book that I didn't love, it has it all, adventure, danger, romance, choice, spiritual depth, strong characters, medieval times, and an excellent coming of age story! Every teenage girl should read this book, and it has enough action that I think teenage guys might really enjoy it too! I think it will also resonate with adults too! I highly recommend this book. I loved it so much, but my only complaint is that cliffhanger ending which left me itching to read the next book, how can I seriously wait a whole year for its release! LOL! 


I would like to thank Jody Hedlund and Zondervan for choosing me to be an influencer for this book. It was my honor to read and review my complimentary copy of this book! 

Review: Unleashed: Heroes of the Horde book one by Jennifer Hartz


4 Stars!
I enjoyed this introduction to Jennifer's YA series! I liked getting to meet an all new cast of diverse characters, they were all really cool and I really enjoyed watching their powers develop! I've never really been much into superheroes, but I really loved these characters. I loved that one of the characters shared my name-Caitlyn-even the exact same spelling, I thought that was super cool! I'm not sure who my favorite character was, maybe Maggie. Because each chapter was told in first person by one of the six main characters, I sometimes had trouble remembering who was talking, but it wasn't a huge problem. There are no sex scenes in this book but there were two scenes that were a bit too intimate for my taste, it especially made me a bit uncomfortable because the characters were only fourteen years old. For this reason I wouldn't recommend this book to young teens. While I didn't love this book as much as Jennifer's Future Savior series, I did really enjoy this book and look forward to reading the following installments at some point! 


I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, just my honest opinion which I have done. All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Top Ten Book Related Problems!


Hosted by The Broke And The Bookish

Ten Book Related Problems I Have (could be serious or fun!)

1. Waiting for the release of a new book by one of my favorite authors-It's like waiting for Christmas morning!

2. Having more than two unread print books on my pile at a time-This is a good problem to have I guess, I'm probably kind of an odd book lover but I hate getting more books than I can read quickly because I hate leaving them lying around unread, for print books that is. Kindle books are a whole different story!

3. Having to stop reading in the middle of a chapter!

4. Needing to stop when I don't have a bookmark handy, I will NOT dog ear a book so I've used napkins, newspaper flyers, other books etcetera as bookmarks! 

5. Trying to carry on a conversation with someone who doesn't love reading as much as I do!

6. Underestimating how long it will take me to read a review book, which leads into...

7. Not being able to request all the review books that I'm offered that I want to read, because I don't have enough spare time to get to many more than two per month!

8. Trying to read in the living room when someone else is watching TV, I always end up getting distracted! 

9. Having to balance my time between reading and watching TV shows.

10. Having to write a review for a book that I either didn't like or was so-so for me, I'm always polite I never bash the book or the author but I sometimes find it difficult and uncomfortable to be honest and also focus on the positives of the book! 

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Sabotaged by Dani Pettrey: A review and other fun stuff!

Get your copy of SABOTAGED by Author Dani Pettrey!



Book Summary:
Growing up, goody-two-shoes Kirra Jacobs and troublemaker Reef McKenna were always at odds. Now paired together on Yancey’s search-and-rescue canine unit, they begin to put aside old arguments as they come to see each other in a different light.
Then a call comes in from the Iditarod that will push them to their limits. Kirra’s uncle, a musher in the race, has disappeared. Kirra and Reef quickly track the man, but what they discover is harrowing. Frank’s daughter has been kidnapped. In order to save her, the man must use his knowledge as a mechanical engineer to do the kidnapper’s bidding or she will die.
Kirra and Reef, along with the entire McKenna family, are thrown into a race to stop a shadowy villain who is not only threatening a girl’s life, but appears willing to unleash one of the largest disasters Alaska has ever seen.

My Review:
5 Stars!!!
Sabotaged was a touching, thrilling, yet bittersweet conclusion to the Alaskan Courage series. Bittersweet just because I did not want to say goodbye to the McKenna family! I loved getting to know Kirra and Reef better. My heart went out to Kirra for all that she had been through, I could not even imagine what it would feel like to go through what she did and then not have anyone believe her, how awful! It was neat to not only see more of the gentleman that Reef is working to be but also to watch him come to realize that God has already forgiven him for what he did in the past, which is something that I think most believers need to be reminded of at times (I know I do!) I thought it was so interesting that this story was set in so many different towns/locations in Alaska that I lost count of just how many, near the end of the book there is a moment where Kirra realizes she can't remember how many plane rides she and Reef have taken in the last few days! I was totally on the same page as her, I had completely lost count by that point too! I also loved that so many members of the McKenna family were in this book a lot, I kinda wished that Cole, Piper and Landon had come into the story a little bit earlier than they did, but still their entrance was perfect! The suspense was sooo good, as was the mystery, for most of the book I had no idea how everything was connected! The epilogue was great though I did feel like it was a tad too short (Of course if I had my way the epilogue would probably be like 50 pages long!) LOL!
 I don't want to risk spoiling anything so I will just say that I loved Sabotaged soooo much and didn't want to see it end! 

The McKenna family owns my heart and always will! 


As an influencer for this book I want to thank Dani Pettrey and Bethany House publishers for giving me the opportunity to review this amazing book! The above is my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.


Series Wrap up and book excerpt:
***POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT***

I have loved every single book in the Alaskan Courage series since I first read Submerged and Shattered back in December of 2012! Dani Pettrey grabbed me on page one of Submerged and never let go! While I love all five books immensely (I classify them as TRRO To Re-Read often!) I have to say my two absolute favorites are Submerged and Shattered my favorite characters in the whole series are Piper and Landon, so it's not surprising that one of my favorite scenes from Submerged was the scene when Piper goes to Landon's house to tell him she found the truck because I think that's the first time we really start to see how protective Landon is of her, and that even though he can't yet see it, that protective instinct is rooted in his love for Piper! But I also love the scene at Piper's birthday party when Gage and Kayden both end up going for a swim! And of course I couldn't forget the scene at the end of Submerged when Cole tells Bailey to look in the mirror! In Shattered, the answer to the question of my favorite scene would be easy; all of them! But more specifically I love chapter 36 in its entirety!!! As well as a certain crazy scene n a mountain pass in Oregon, if you've read Shattered you know exactly what scene I'm talking about, when I read the word Avalanche I seriously yelled WHAT!? But I loved how it was resolved! This is seriously one of my favorite fictional families, and I was so sad to see their stories end! 
To read an excerpt of Sabotaged click HERE

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Guess the next title...


Dani recently announced the title of her new series the Chesapeake Valor series. So I thought I would try to come up my best ideas for titles, I doubt if any are the same as the actual book title but it was really fun to guess!

To see the announcement on Bethany House's Facebook book banter page click HERE


1. Shackled 
2. Guarded 
3. Devoted
4. Reborn
5. Strengthened
6. Rescued
7. Honored
8. Salvaged
9. Protected
10. Redeemed



Dani Pettrey is a wife, home-schooling mom, and the acclaimed author of the romantic suspense series Alaskan Courage, which includes her bestselling novelsSubmergedShatteredStrandedSilenced, and her latest release, Sabotaged. She feels blessed to write inspirational romantic suspense because it incorporates so many things she loves–the thrill of adventure, nail biting suspense, the deepening of her characters’ faith, and plenty of romance. She and her husband reside in Maryland, where they enjoy time with their daughters, son-in-law, and super-adorable grandson.




Thursday, February 5, 2015

Monthly Reflections #20

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I believe my goal for January was to read 5 books, well I ended up having a crazy productive reading month, I read 14 books in January! Yes one was a non-fiction and another a cookbook but I'm still so thrilled with that!!!

The books I read were

1. Trails and Targets by Kelly Eileen Hake

2. Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth

3. A Brush with Love by Rachel Hauck

4. Tried and True by Mary Connealy

5. Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund

6. Love at Mistletoe Inn by Cindy Kirk

7. Rescued by Tracy L. Higley

8. Growing Up Duggar by Jana, Jill, Jessa and Jinger Duggar

9. The Real Girl's Kitchen by Haylie Duff

10. One December Night by Melissa Tagg

11. With Every Breath by Elizabeth Camden

12. Dancing With Fireflies by Denise Hunter

13. Sabotaged by Dani Pettrey

14. The Wishing Season by Denise Hunter

Favorite read of the month
I enjoyed all of my reads but my favorites were: Sabotaged, With Every Breath, The Wishing Season, One December Night, Rescued, Tried and True and A Brush With Love!

I don't think there is any way I will have as much reading time in February as I did in January so I will set a small goal of reading 6 books, I'm also hoping to re-read a few of my favorite books!