From debut author Zibby Owens comes Princess Charming, a lovable and empowering new character!

Princess Charming can't quite seem to find her "thing." She's tried everything from cooking to hip-hop, and hasn't been able to perfect either. Even her cartwheels are subpar. But when the castle hosts a superstar for a special event, Princess Charming finally finds her time to shine.

Princess Charming is about a brand-new princess character filled with fun, humor, and girl power. With a modern look and can-do attitude, Princess Charming is the perfect gift for all young readers who never give up!

 My Thoughts:

 Princess Charming is a sweet story of a little princess who is trying to figure out what she is “good” at. She doesn’t give up easily and isn’t afraid to try new things. She wants find out what she is “good” doing. She just seems to think she isn’t very good at things. She tries out baking, hip-hop, and even cartwheels. None of these things work out well for her.

 An exciting thing is about to happen at the palace when they have a superstar come to the palace. Stella Sparkle loses something special to her. No one can find it but Princess Charming is determined to locate the lost item. She finds the lost item and returns it to her new friend.  She also discovers that she doesn’t give up on anything and that is her special gift.

 The illustrations are delightful and capture the young reader’s imagination.

 

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product in exchange for my honest thoughts.

 

 

 Bea Jones is bored with kindergarten. Really bored. Her dad is fed up with being stuck in an office. Really, really fed up. So Bea and Mr. Jones decide to change places. Neither kindergarten nor the office will ever be the same.
    
Originally published in 1982, Bea and Mr. Jones, Amy Schwartz’s unforgettable debut picture book, was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year and a Reading Rainbow selection. Now back with a fresh design, this charming favorite will inspire a new generation of children to see everyday life in a whole new light.

 My Thoughts:

Author Amy Schwartz celebrates the 40^th anniversary of her debut picture book.

Reading this book brings back memories reading this delightful book to my nieces and nephews. As an adult you want to go back to your carefree days as a child. As a child you just want to grow up really fast. Okay so maybe I don’t want to go back to childhood!

 Bea is not happy with kindergarten and Mr. Jones not happy with his work. Why not switch places. They both find that they are very good in their switched positions. Bea gets a promotion and Mr. Jones is the teacher’s pet and have earned their status. Neither one of them go back to their old life.

I love the drawings and the black and white print. There are a lot of details to explore within the pages. A charming story with delightful illustrations throughout.

 

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product in exchange for my honest thoughts.

 

 

 

When Leah Miller's entire Amish family was murdered ten years ago, the person believed responsible took his own life. Since then, Leah left the Amish and joined the police force. Now, after another Amish woman is found murdered with the same MO, it becomes clear that the wrong man may have been blamed for her family's deaths.

As Leah and the new police chief, Dalton Cooper, work long hours struggling to fit the pieces together in order to catch the killer, they can't help but grow closer. When secrets from both of their pasts begin to surface, an unexpected connection between them is revealed. But this is only the beginning. Could it be that the former police chief framed an innocent man to keep the biggest secret of all buried? And what will it mean for Leah--and Dalton--when the full truth comes to light?

My Thoughts: 

This story was full of action and suspense. I didn’t even know who the bad guy was until it was close to being revealed! This has been my favorite book this year.  The plot had a lot of twist and turns with a strong story line throughout the book.

 The characters are likable. The main character Leah Miller is a strong character that is still compassionate despite her scars she carries. After her family was killed brutally in front of her. She was taken in by an English family. Leah is a police officer and assumed the man who brutally murdered her family 10 years was killed in the fire. Now innocent girls are being killed ten years after the murder of her family.  Notes are being left for Leah from the killer. Leah is determined to stop the serial killer. The new police Chief Dalton Cooper and Leah team up to apprehend the killer. He has his own reasons to catch the killer. All the characters are well developed.

 It’s been awhile since I have read any Amish books. This was a unique story in this genre. It still showed the simple life of the Amish, family, and faith.

 I just don’t see much I didn’t like about this book other than it keeping me up way to late reading. The ending made me think that there might be a book 2.

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through Revell in exchange for my honest thoughts.

 

About the Book

Book: A Promise Engraved

Author: Liz Tolsma

Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction/Romance

Release date: May, 2022

Can Promises Made in Times of Struggle Endure 200 Years?

Visit historic American landmarks through the Doors to the Past series. History and today collide in stories full of mystery, intrigue, faith, and romance.

Young, spirited Josie Wilkins life is about to take a turn when faced with political turmoil and forbidden love in San Antonio of 1836. John Gilbert has won her heart, despite being a Protestant preacher who is forbidden to practice his faith in Texas. Will either of them survive an epic battle for liberty to create a legacy of love?

Nearly 200 years later, Kayleigh Hernandez takes breaks from her demanding job as a refugee coordinator working with Mexican migrants to attend flea markets where she has found a uniquely engraved ring. Enlisting the help of appraiser Brandon Shuman, they piece together a love story long forgotten. But will dangers linked to Kayleigh’s work end her own hopes for leaving a legacy built on hope, faith, and love?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 My Review:

 

 This is from “Doors to the Past” series. Each book is a separate story. A promise spans across generations from 1835 to present day San Antonio, Texas. A dual timeline story starts with the history of the Alamo and a ring with an engraving.

 

Josie is a brave and strong woman that isn’t broken by a cruel man in the 1800’s. She is a messenger for the Americans. A Mexican solider as tried repeatedly tried to violate Josie, thankfully it has been stopped. (no descriptions about rape.) She has feeling for a Protosent Preacher John Gilbert.

 

Present day is Kayleigh. Kayleigh finds a unique ring and enlistes Brandon to help search for the meaning of the engraving on the cat’s eye ring. Brandon is a jewelry appraiser. Both women have different stories but a common thread of a stalker.

 

As always Liz Tolsma weaves in the historical events with fictional to bring the story alive. She does a lovely job researching he history. She separates the cultures of the past and present of the characters. It flowed nicely going between the two eras. I found that I liked Josie story more. However, Kayleigh was an intriguing story and you need both to bring the mystery of the engraving to light.

 

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through Celebrate Lit Bloggers in exchange for my honest thoughts. 

About the Author

Liz Tolsma is the author of several WWII novels, romantic suspense novels, prairie romance novellas, and an Amish romance. She is a popular speaker and an editor and resides next to a Wisconsin farm field with her husband and their youngest daughter. Her son is a US Marine, and her oldest daughter is a college student. Liz enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping. Please visit her website at www.liztolsma.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter (@LizTolsma), Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. She is also the host of the Christian Historical Fiction Talk podcast.

 

More from Liz

The Story of Susannah Dickinson, Alamo Survivor

When asked how many died at the Alamo, many would answer that everyone did. While it’s true that all fighting on the side of Texas independence perished, there were survivors, all women and children and one slave. The only white woman (the rest were of Mexican descent) was Susannah Dickinson, along with her daughter Angelina. Susannah had followed her husband, Almaron, to Mexican Texas in 1831. They had married two years before when Susannah was just fifteen. She never learned to read or write.

 

She and the other women hid in the sacristy of the church, one of the surviving buildings in the mission and what we now think of as the Alamo. Her husband died, but Mexican General Santa Anna found them and spared their lives, sending them to Sam Houston with $2 each and a blanket.

 

She married again the following year but divorced him almost immediately on the grounds of cruelty. She married a third time the following year and was married for five years until her husband died of alcoholism. A fourth marriage occurred in 1847, but she divorced again in 1857, this time allegedly because she was having an affair. That same year, she married for a fifth time. This marriage lasted until her death in 1883.

 

The ring in A Promise Engraved is based on a cat’s eye ring supposedly given to Angelina by William Travis before the battle. Angelina was Susannah’s only child. She married and had three children, but that marriage ended in divorce. She gave the ring to a man she’d become involved with in New Orleans. She married again and had one more child but died in 1869 from a uterine hemorrhage.

 

Today there are many descendants of Susannah Dickinson. If you visit the Susannah Dickinson house in Austin, you’ll see a quilt that is signed by many of her living descendants.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, May 28

Bigreadersite, May 28

The Write Escape, May 28

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 29

Christina’s Corner, May 29

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 29

lakesidelivingsite, May 30

Texas Book-aholic, May 30

Rebecca Tews, May 30

Inklings and notions, May 31

Blogging With Carol, May 31

Splashes of Joy, May 31

Betti Mace, June 1

Southern Gal Loves to Read, June 1

Genesis 5020, June 2

Daysong Reflections, June 2

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, June 2

Remembrancy, June 3

Books, Books, and More Books, June 3

For Him and My Family, June 3

Older & Smarter?, June 4

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 4

Tell Tale Book Reviews, June 5

deb’s Book Review, June 5

Mary Hake, June 5

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, June 6

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, June 6

Blossoms and Blessings, June 6

Connie’s History Classroom, June 7

Life of Literature, June 7

Back Porch Reads , June 7

Bizwings Blog, June 8

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 8

For the Love of Literature, June 8

Through the Fire blogs, June 9

Pause for Tales, June 9

Labor Not in Vain, June 9

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, June 10

Melissa’s Bookshelf, June 10

Little Homeschool on the Prairie, June 10

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Liz is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/1e37a/a-promise-engraved-celebration-tour-giveaway

 In 1964, a group of scientists called the Los Alamos Five came close to finishing a nuclear energy project for the United States government when they were abruptly disbanded. Now the granddaughter of one of those five scientists, aerospace engineer Elinor Mitchell, discovers that she has highly sensitive information on the project in her possession--and a target on her back.

SNAP agent and former Navy cryptologist Kekoa Young is tasked with monitoring Elinor. This is both convenient since she's his neighbor in Washington, DC, and decidedly inconvenient because . . . well, he kind of likes her.

As Elinor follows the clues her grandfather left behind to a top-secret nuclear project, Kekoa has no choice but to step in. When Elinor learns he has been spying on her, she's crushed. But with danger closing in on all sides, she'll have to trust him to ensure her discoveries stay out of enemy hands.

Natalie Walters sucks you into the global race for space domination in this perfectly paced second installment of her SNAP Agency romantic suspense series.

My Thoughts:

I was glad to get reacquainted with the team at The Snap Agency. I enjoyed the first book in the series, “Lights Out”. One character in particular was Kekoa and his fun antics and personality. I was delighted to learn more about his history. 

Kekoa Young is a cryptologist and former Navy. He finds himself in a position of investigating his neighbor Elinor Mitchell who is an aerospace engineer who is heading off the work on Space Force. Someone is selling the company’s secrets and they hire the Snap Agency to investigate it. In all appearance Elinor looks guilty due to emails that are found in her company email box. Kekoa is assigned to get to know her; he quickly sees that she is not guilty despite the evidence and he was the one that found the emails. Things don’t add up and he doesn’t believe that she is the one selling the secrets. Elinor is a number geek and her character is played out well in this story with her personality. There is a lot of good chemistry between Kekoa and Elinor.

The book is a suspenseful page turner. I had a hard time putting the book down. This is a heartfelt Christian Romance with a lot of suspense. The faith parts felt genuine and not hollow. I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next book in this series. It looks like Garcia and Lyla will be the main focus!

 Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through Revell in exchange for my honest thoughts. 

 

There seems to be a lot of outreach for the Gospel with programs and resources popping up everywhere. Rhapsody Free Devotional is one of those @rhapsodydevotional You can download free resources on their site and/or partner with them https://bit.ly/RhapsodyFreeDevo

 The devotions are available by age from early readers, kids, teens, and adults. All the devotionals are appropriate for the ages and have activities in each of them. Word searches, crossword puzzles, fill in the blank, Bible facts, and other activities within the devotionals. The devotionals are pretty straight forward in their message. Nothing sugar coated. I think these will appeal to all ages.;

 The devotionals are free and are a tool for evangelism. They are available in over 5,900 languages and more are still being added. You can download each copy as a PDF or request a physical copy.

 “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone." Mark 16:15

 #sharethegospel #gospel #jesussaves #salvation #evangelism #devotions #jesus #christiandevotional

 

“Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone." Mark 16:15

 This world keeps getting darker every day. Now more than ever we need to share about Jesus. @gomovementusa has a free action kit that has resources for praying, caring, and sharing the Gospel with others. You can download this wonderful kit for free. You can download the free kit: https://bit.ly/3NlHaPP The kit can be used by the whole family for all ages. Evangelism is so essential, through prayer and being real through caring for others. Sharing about Jesus should be something that we should do in our everyday life but it’s not always easy and can be intimating.

 #JESUSSAYSGO #sharethegospel #gospel #jesussaves #salvation #gomovement #evangelism #evangelist #jesus