It's Fat Bear Week!

I found out about Fat Bear Week last year and it's so fun to watch. Have you been watching?

The premise of Fat Bear Week is that you observe these brown bears from Katmai National Park in Alaska and you vote on which one you think is the fattest as they get ready for hibernation. There are some BIG bears on there! And some cute ones, too. 

So when you vote, it's a single elimination tournament and the one with the most votes advances in the tournament standings until ONE is crowned the fattest bear. It's just something fun, but educational, too, as our family has learned about bears as we've been watching, and we have a lot of back and forth on who to vote for! 

If you'd like to watch and vote, you can go HERE

In the Non-Fiction Corner: When You Let God Prevail

In the Non-Fiction Corner With Lauren

This booklet is an adorable little read about what God promises you when you let Him prevail in your life. 

The author talks about several things that the Lord does for us, and she includes scriptural examples as well as examples from her own life. My favorite part of the booklet was when she talks about how God saves us because we are worth saving. He loves us all individually. He went into the garden for me, not just my neighbor. He suffered for my sins so I can be forgiven, not just my best friend. 

Condie gives profound insight into the promises of the Lord and what can happen when we turn our lives over to Him.

Get your copy here

Here is the back copy:

In his October 2020 general conference address, President Russell M. Nelson posed a powerful question to members of the Church: Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? In response to this query, popular author and Real Talk podcast co-host Ganel-Lyn Condie delves into seven key concepts that illustrate what the invitation to let God prevail; means in your life and the steps you can take to allow the will of the Lord to guide your actions day to day. Learn what you can do to more fully offer the Lord a willing heart and discover the mighty miracles that can be yours as you allow His will to prevail.

Book Review: An Engagement of Sorts

I was excited to participate in the blog tour for An Engagement of Sorts by Alene Wecker, but wasn't able to post due to my illness. But, today, I wanted to at least post my review of this historical romance debut! (And isn't that a great cover?)

Anne Fletcher is a young woman with ideas on how her life should be led, but society, with all its strictures, doesn't agree. Anne has a hard time finding anyone who sees and accepts the real her, and her thoughts and opinions are often cast aside. Her mother is ready for Anne to be out of her hair and decides its time for Anne to be married off. Her father has agreed to let Will, the local vicar, court her, even though Anne thinks of Will as her brother. Anne is headstrong enough to want to choose her own husband, so she is allowed the chance to go to London in order to find one, but if she can't, she'll marry Will.  While in London, Anne does her very best to try and fit in, but nothing seems to go as planned. Renewing her acquaintance with Mr. Thomas Paling, who is so infuriating and fascinating at the same time, complicates Anne's feelings even more. Can she trust what her heart is telling her? 

I really enjoyed the scenes between Thomas and Anne. They were both dealing with incidents in their pasts that had affected them and their behavior. Thomas was such a great hero, and there were some laugh out loud moments when he'd aggravated Anne. I liked his wit and willingness to help and accept Anne and I really enjoyed watching their romance unfold. Anne has had a lot to deal with in her life. She is quite passionate, but also young and her actions show that lack of maturity when she often gets herself into scrapes that could have been avoided. I thought she did begin to find her footing, though, that showed her growth as a person and made her more endearing. I also liked the little intrigue to try and catch a villain and that kept me turning pages. The setting was described with just enough detail for the reader to be able to imagine it, and the secondary cast added depth to the story. I thought this debut novel was well-done and will definitely be looking for more by this author!

Get your copy here 

Here's the back copy:

Much to her mother’s dismay, spirited Anne Fletcher spent her youth seeking her father’s approval by hunting and riding. More comfortable in breeches than ball gowns, Anne sees the freedoms she once enjoyed slowly taken from her in the name of fashioning her into an eligible young lady. When her parents try to force her into marriage, Anne makes a desperate attempt to salvage her last vestige of independence. If she is to marry, she will do so on her own terms.

Anne strikes a deal: if she cannot secure a man for herself, she will agree to marry the husband her parents approved. She soon finds herself in the last place she would ever choose—that stifling parade of etiquette, the London Season. Anne’s plan is in motion. Now all she needs is a man willing to masquerade as her fiancé.

I've Been Missing For A While---But Now I'm Back!

 
Well, it's been a little while since I've posted here. Just over a month, actually. I've posted nearly every weekday on this blog for over ten years, and it's strange to not have posted for such a long period of time. But a lot has happened in my life in the last month.

Some of you know I ended up in the hospital and very near death. I'm so grateful to still be here. I'm recovering at home now, but it's going to be a long and slow recovery. My life is so different now. I'm going to be learning how to be patient with myself in the months to come. Something I've probably needed to learn for a long time. Life lessons always seem to find a way to us whether we want them to or not, don't they?

I do feel like my perspective has changed on so many things after what I've experienced, but one thing is for sure, I'm grateful for the friendships I've made here on this blog, even if we've never met in person, but know each other through our mutual love of books. Thank you so much for being my friend. That truly means a great deal to me. More than you know! And I hope we'll always remain book friends, no matter what.

Freebie Friday for Romance Fans!

Need some bite-sized romances to read this weekend? The Blind Date Timeless Romance anthology is free today!

Get your free copy here

Here is the back copy:

Six Blind Dates . . . Six Chances to Fall in Love.

THE PROMISE THAT KATY DID, by Annette Lyon: After the death of Sue Ellen, the closest thing she has to family, Katy knows it’s time to leave the house she’s lived in as a guest and start over in the city. She quickly secures a job, but before leaving, she must honor the unusual promise she made to Sue Ellen on her deathbed: meet with Mr. Balmer. The elderly gentleman arranges for his grandson Barrett to escort her to a town dance. That evening, shy Katy quickly feels at ease with her partner. If her new position weren’t taking her from town, perhaps something could develop between them. But Barrett may not feel the same about her, and besides, they don't have enough time to find out.

A LADY OF SENSE, by Sarah M. Eden: Eleanor Sherwood has lived her entire life under her parents’ thumb with little hope of escape. When they choose the unbearable Mr. Broadstead to be her future husband, she begs her father for another option. He arranges for her to meet Peter Havensham, who quickly proves himself a good and kindhearted gentleman, completely different from Mr. Broadstead, and utterly undeserving of a forced engagement. Eleanor cannot bring herself to prey upon Peter’s honor, but neither can she imagine a life with Mr. Broadstead. What is a lady to do when faced with such an impossible choice?

A SECOND CHANCE, by Heather B. Moore: Virginia needs a new start in order to recover from her broken marriage, so when her best friend Millie invites Virginia to Chicago, she goes to live with her friend’s family. But when Millie asked Virginia to participate in a double-date, Virginia knows she’s not ready to start dating again. Reluctantly she agrees, only to find out that Max might just be the man who can repair the cracks in her heart.

BRAELYNN’S BLIND DATE, by Victorine E. Lieske. When Braelynn agrees to go on a blind date, she thinks she’s hit the jackpot. Tyler is gorgeous and the perfect gentleman. Of course she should have known it was too good to be true. It turns out that Tyler really wasn’t Tyler, but a random stranger who went along with Braelynn’s mistaken assumption. So, she chalks it up to a dumb mistake until she gets to work Monday morning and discovers that her gorgeous blind date is now her new boss.

BIANCA’S HOPE, by Rachel Branton: A blind-date-gone-wrong is not the way Bianca would have chosen to celebrate the news that she might be losing her business, but saying no to the sister who took care of her after their mother’s death proves impossible. So for one date, one torturous evening, she’ll endure the company of an infuriating, heartless man she has no intention of ever seeing again. She doesn’t expect her heart to have other plans. Bianca soon learns that sometimes the unexpected is not only what you need, it’s exactly what you’ve been waiting for all along.

BLIND SPOT, by Sariah Wilson: Ria has prepared most of her life to meet her prince, trouble is, her mother keeps yanking her back to reality. So when Ria reads about a country teeming with princes, she drops everything and applies to grad school. But every blind date goes wrong, and while Ria commiserates with her roommate Tessa and Tessa’s totally un-prince-like brother Paolo, Ria discovers that all the things she thought she wanted in a man are far from what she really needs.

Freebie Friday for YA Fantasy Fans!

I don't read a lot of YA fantasy, but this one looks good! If you need a weekend read, Michele Paige Holmes First Light is free today!

Get your free book here

Here's the back copy:

Seventeen-year-old Adrielle doesn’t believe in magic; she merely possesses it. When Adrielle starts a fire that burns down the family home, she must deal with both her grief and rejection. Forced out of her village, she journeys to far away Tallinyne in search of her older, estranged sister—the only relative who might take her in. Thrust into a dangerous and unfamiliar world, Adrielle struggles to navigate a world of magic she never imagined where she is forced to make a choice no girl should ever have to—satisfying her own heart or saving the kingdom.

It's a Sarah Eden Super Sale!

 

You guys! Sarah Eden is one of my very favorite authors and you can get SEVEN of her books for only $1.99 each! That is a fantastic deal! I've read all of these books and loved them. You won't want to miss this deal!

Get The Sheriffs of Savage Wells HERE

Get Longing for Home HERE

Get Hope Springs HERE

Get Ashes on the Moor HERE

Get The Lady and the Highwayman HERE

Get The Gentleman and the Thief HERE

Get Healing Hearts HERE