Wednesday, July 16, 2014

5 Stars to Annie's Stories by Cindy Thomson



Annie's Stories An Ellis Island Novel by Cindy Thomson is a wonderful historical fiction book. Annie is the housekeeper at Hawkins House where she was brought after being rescued from the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland. Her mother died when she was a baby and her father, with Annie, would travel around Ireland because her father was a storyteller. When he died Annie had no one but a mean Uncle who did not want her and when her cousin Aileen tells a lie her Uncle sends Annie to the laundry. 

Annie gets a second chance when she is rescued from the laundry and sent to live with Mrs. Hawkins at the Hawkins House. She only has her stories her father left her of her past life with him and the rest of her past she wants to forget.
This book is Annie's story of second chances and finding her strength to move on and she is determined  not to depend on anyone but herself. Can Annie move past the hurts and memories that haunt her from the laundry? Will she ever be able to make her dreams reality? Most of all will she find that she is not unloved and forgotten by God? Will she find Love again for God, herself and a man to love her like the postman Stephen?

I loved this book. I love how Cindy Thomson makes books, reading and especially the book The Wizard Of OZ by Frank Braum an important part to Annie's story. I love how strong and independent Annie is and the heart for others she has. Annie grows as a person throughout the book and you find yourself caught up right along with her. You begin to feel a part of this story too and it is written where you can just feel Annie, Mrs Hawkins , Stephen and all the other characters could be people you know. This book is a book about second chances, moving on from the past hurts and holding on to the good memories, about love and learning to rely on Faith and God. You see with Annie that she has to come to realize that God can love her and that God never left her but was always with her. She has to love herself and realize she is lovable before she can become whole and achieve what she wants to in the future. Very uplifting and wonderful book.

This book combines the love of books, reading with history of family, books, publishing and the time period. If you are a lover of books, history, genealogy and good historical fiction then I believe you will love this book. I would recommend this book to all it is well worth the read.

If you want more information about this book, the Ellis Island Novels or the author visit her website at

check out the book trailer here









I was given a free copy of this book from Tyndale Publishing in exchange for my honest review of the book

Until Next time:

GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE OR TEA, SOME CHOCOLATE, A GOOD BOOK AND KEEP ON READING!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Adventure Book For Your Kids







I am always looking for good fun books that kids will enjoy and want to read and with this book Voyage with the Vikings The Imagination Station book 1 by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker I have found just that. It is also a series so it will keep your kids busy reading for awhile. I like the fact that the book has adventure, history and is a Christian book that you don't have to worry about kids reading.  I think the kids will love the adventure and not even realize they might be learning about history too in this book.


Beth wants to show her cousin Patrick the Imagination Station so they go to see Mr Whittaker's.  He says the station isn't working, but when the two step in, it starts to work. A letter appears and it says Albert is trapped and they have to find a Viking sunstone. Beth and Patrick want to help so they take the Imagination Station back in time to the Vikings to find the sunstone. Will Beth and Patrick be able to find the sunstone, retrieve it and get back to the Station and home? Will Leif Erikkson help them find it or will his Dad Erik the Red harm them? Will they be able to get the sunstone and help Albert? You will have to read the book to find out.

 I  enjoyed this book even at my age. I think the quest will be great fun for your kids and they will want to read this book and the rest of them too. It is a great book for kids age 6 to 10 they will really enjoy reading this book.

The next book in the series is Attack at the Arena The Imagination Station Book 2 by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker
In this book the cousins Beth and Patrick continue their quest to help Albert and go back to 5th Century Rome.

If you want more information on this book check it out at
http://tyndale.com/Voyage-with-the-Vikings/9781589976276#.U7wT7PldV8E
You can find more information on this series and other kids books at
http://tyndale.com

Until Next Time:

GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE OR TEA, SOME CHOCOLATE, A GOOD BOOK AND KEEP ON READING AND LET'S GET OUR KIDS READING TOO!

Monday, July 7, 2014

A Great Read Muffin But Murder By Victoria Hamilton






You will find  fun, excitement, mystery and romance all wrapped up in  a great read with Muffin but Murder A Merry Muffin Mystery by Victoria Hamilton.

Merry Wynter has inherited a castle from her Uncle but she doesn't know how she will be able to keep it. She has left NY City to come to Autumn Vale along with two of her best friends Pish and Shilo, and is living in the castle while trying to get it ready to sell.  When a long lost cousin Cranston, who she never heard of, shows up claiming to be a grandson of her Uncles and wanting his share of the inheritance things get interesting. Merry has found a niche in Autumn Vale by making and selling her muffins and she has made friends there also but doesn't see a way to be able to keep the castle so Merry throws a party for locals, a few chosen N Y friends, as well as some whom she hopes will be interested in buying the castle, but things get out of control  and then someone is killed. Merry's best friend Pish is a suspect so Merry has to figure out who is really behind the murder and help Pish while trying to figure out if Cranston is really entitled to part of the inheritance from her Uncle.


This book has everything you could want a good plot with twists that you don't see coming, a great interesting setting with the castle and unique quirky characters that you can connect with as well as romance thrown in for good measure. I love that Merry is such a strong level headed, most of the time, spontaneous woman.  I could see myself getting into some of the same situations as Merry with going on the spur of the moment to investigate this murder and realizing after words that it wasn't the safest or smartest thing to do. Pish and Shilo are unique and they add a lot to the story, besides as I was reading this I could think of people I know that reminded me of them, which helps you to connect with the book more. I really enjoyed this book and was glad to see that this is another great series to add to my list of series I must read. I think if you like a good mystery that you can't figure out in the first chapter and keeps you guessing to the end,  with strong yet quirky characters you will want to read this. It also has recipes which is always a plus.


I had not read the first book in this series Bran New Death  but that wasn't a problem this can be read as a stand alone but after reading this book I don't want to miss out on a single book in the series so I will be getting the first one to read also.


If you want more on this book and all the other series that Victoria Hamilton has check out her website at
http://www.victoriahamiltonmysteries.com

Don't miss a good book pick up Muffin but Murder it is in bookstores now.

I received a free Advance Readers Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

UNTIL NEXT TIME:

GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE OR TEA, SOME CHOCOLATE, A GOOD BOOK AND KEEP ON READING!