Reading, Writing & Pondering

  Joyful and Spiritual: Recipes for Body and Soul (Winter) by Julia Reno and Sofia Kauko-Valli is a beautiful book full of stories and recipes that may inspire your days.  Winter isn't my favorite season. However, Joyful and Spiritual offers beautiful photos of winter days outdoors along with the warmth of home indoors. The authors have a mix of delicious recipes that include, soups, hot beverages, meatballs, cinnamon rolls, and delicious-sounding casseroles. Julia is Ukrainian born and her recipes reflect that. They are also full of healthy and wholesome ingredients, which I especially like. She also has some fun to-do projects in this book--a vision board, a letter to God, and ways to use essential oils, among other ideas. This book is also full of uplifting Christian stories and encouragement to inspire your own walk with God. The book is just lovely and is a warm hug in the midst of a cold season. Now, the authors have another book out for Spring, which I am sure is just...

  Sometimes You Stay by Liz Johnson is set on Prince Edward Island with a few previous characters from her Red Door Inn books. Johnson also references Anne of Green Gables, a  famous fictional character from Prince Edward Island, and it is fun to see those references as an Anne fan. Cretia Martin is a travel influencer visiting Prince Edward Island when things go awry. She, along with her suitcase and travel gear, end up in the harbor after an accidental run-in with a large dog name Joe Junior. Finn Chaffey is that large goofy dog's owner.  Sometimes You Stay offered a glimpse into the life of a travel writer and a young man who raises dogs and other animals on his small farm. I liked how this couple learned to communicate with one another. I also liked how Cretia fit in at the Inn and made some female friends among the locals.  My favorite part of this book was near the end when Cretia and Marie were talking about growing up in their dysfunctional families. I could ...

  If you know me, and my own son, you know we are foodies. Ripening Time by Patrice Gopo was a great book for us to read as we loved the food-oriented story about the ripening plantains. Ripening Time showcases the message from the back cover that, "Some of the sweetest things in life are worth the wait." This book starts out with a young girl shopping with her mom and sister at the grocery store. While there, they buy plantains. Mama tells the girls when they are ripe, she will cook them. The book then follows the girl and the plantains through the week as she waits for them to ripen. Ripening Time is honestly one of my favorite children's books about food. I loved the beautiful, vibrant illustrations. This 32-page book is large, measuring about  9 1/2 inches square with a dust jacket. I have never had plantains but would like to try them after reading this book. I think it would be especially fun to read the book as a family or with a group of children and then make ...

  Princess Paris Finds Her Purpose is a beautifully illustrated book written by Demi-Leigh Tebow and illustrated by Olga and Aleksey Ivanov.  I like the message that comes through in Princess Paris Finds Her Purpose. Spreading Kindness is more important than looking like a Princess when her crown is stolen. This hardcover book has a dust jacket and is larger in size at a little over 10 inches squared. There are 32 pages of a fun adventure as the Princess goes through her day on her way to meet a King. On her journey, her crown is stolen but she is given many opportunities to be kind to those around her. One unique thing about this book is that there are African words that children can learn to say in another language and also learn the meaning of. I like that this book has so many positive things about it. I also love the beautiful illustrations. I especially like that the main character is a dog as a dog lover. It is an all-around fun read for children ages 4 to 8. I received...

  After reading several suspense books, Everything's Coming Up Rosie by Courtney Walsh was just what I needed. Like the other books that I have read by Courtney, I could certainly relate to the main character, Rosie. Rosie Waterman feels like a failure. Things just aren't going her way in much of her life. Her acting dreams aren't coming true, in spite of hard work. She is in debt to her roommate. At the start of the book, she is headed home to a baby shower for one of her good friends. She has three good friends from high school and she thinks that they have it all together. . .only to find out later, that they don't either.  One of the things I loved about this book is the part where Rosie discovers she is not alone. . .And how many of us feel alone and afraid to open up? I know I could relate to that.  I also liked Booker, Rosie's romantic interest in her new job. Speaking of the job, Rosie is the director of a production of Cinderella for a retirement village i...

  The Voice We Find by Nicole Deese is the 3rd book in the Fog Harbor series.  The Voice We Find starts out with Sophie Walker returning home to California after she has fails at her broadway career. Her dysfunctional family owns a winery and expect her to take a small role as she stays with her family. She also finds a gig as an audio-book narrator. August Tate moved back near the same area in California to be a guardian to his younger adopted sister who has degenerative hearing loss after a traumatic accident that claimed the lives of their parents. August has a recording studio and is soon recording Sophie reading audio-books.  There is actually a lot going on in The Voice We Find . I enjoyed the romance in the beginning with Sophie and August. . .but then the communication troubles began. That is really one of my least favorite tropes. I dislike it when the guy and gal can't communicate, which happens for awhile in this book. There are also communication issues betw...

  Like many people, I haven't had a great relationship with my dad. 40 Days to God, My Father by Rosann S. Coulon is a devotional aimed at those of us who have difficult father relationships in one way or another. Maybe your dad was absent or maybe you didn't have a good relationship for another reason, but if your relationship is marked by heartache of some sort, this book was written for you, according to the author. As you would expect from the title, this book has forty devotions in it. In the introduction, the author shares some of her story with her father. She also shares how she encourages readers to read the book. The book is divided into 10 sections with four devotions each: A Loving Father, An Encouraging Father, A Faithful Father, A Guiding Father, A Trustworthy Father, A Providing Father, A Protecting Father, A Comforting Father, A Healing Father, A Mercifal Father and followed by an Epilogue about holding tightly to our Heavenly Father's Hand. There is also a...

  Do you like a good ghost story? Tempest at Annabel's Lighthouse is Jaime Jo Wright's latest novel and it features the ghost named Annabel. Tempest at Annabel's Lighthouse is a dual timeline novel. The book starts off in the late 1800s with Rebecca who is lost and has amnesia. Readers first meet Rebecca on Annabel's grave. Those who live in the lighthouse struggled to keep Rebecca safe as there were still evil people out to get her.  In the present-day timeline, author and researcher Shea Radclyffe is staying at the lighthouse to research about Annabel and to write a book. If she is honest, she is also struggling with her marriage to Pete and she isn't sure what to do about it. Then Pete shows up at the lighthouse to help her with some car repairs--and maybe help her solve the mystery surrounding her. Tempest at Annabel's Lighthouse is a book that is fraught with mystery and angst in both timelines. I didn't figure out all of the mysteries on either side...