my nook!!!

This fall I won a 7" Nook HD from a giveaway on www.crossreads.com for "Amish Christmas Boxed Set" by Becca Fisher.  In case you were wondering, yes, people actually do win those things.  I honestly didn't believe I would ever receive it; clear until it showed up at my door!  Here it is! 
I have had some time to play with it and now I think I can give a clear review.  It is 7 inches, has internet access, clear pics, easy to load things both online and through the cord.  I had received a few books for review that I had not been able to read because they were in a format that wasn't readable on my kindle.  Now I can.  My daughter loves to play the apps.  I downloaded several free ones and she plays them on long trips  and at countless JV basketball games her brother is in.  I bought a cover for it.  I would highly recommend doing that.  On the down side:  leaving the wi-fi on really runs down the battery, so we leave it off unless downloading.  This would make surfing the web a little tough for very long.  I don't usually surf much on the Nook.  Maybe look up something quick, but I have a phone with 3G so I really don't need to do that on the Nook.  You also receive gift cards from Barnes and Noble when you register, so that gives you some books to start out with.  I still love my Kindle and it is my main e-book reader, but I also love the Nook and am really glad I have it. 

eyes wide open review

What can ya say about Ted Dekker?  He's weird.  I'll give ya that.  "Eyes Wide Open" is the newest of Dekker's novels.  It's about a girl who has amnesia and a boy who also has amnesia.  They break into a mental institution through a tunnel.  Then they become patients.  Or do they?  This book is written in a reading level similar to a Young Adult novel.  He twists and turns.  Who am I? Where is she?  Did she ever leave the tunnel.  What is a delusion and what is real?  How do you know?  Can you know?  This book is weird.  But what are you thinking about at night while trying to get to sleep?  This book.  It never leaves your mind!  It creeps me out!  I am confused and yet I love it!  I received this book for free from Worthy Publishing.

Food Triggers review

"Food Triggers: End Cravings Eat Well and Live Better" by Rhona Epstein, Psy.D, a certified addictions counselor, is the perfect book to start out the new year with.  Epstein treats overeating and overweightness as an addiction like any other.  She uses references from AA regularly and explains that food addiction isn't just physical.  I love this book.  Epstein explains brain triggers and what causes food addictions, some even before the person is born.  Some of this may seem out there, but when you think about it, really, it all starts to make sense.  She explains that though the abstinence of food entirely is not possible as it is for other addictions, there are food triggers that are avoidable.  Sugar for instance.  Hard to do, but possible.  Epstein breaks down the addictions and makes them possible to manage.  I received this book for free from Worthy Publishing.
My Giveaway!  Comment on your latest weight control strategy at the end of this post for a chance to win a copy of "Food Triggers".

jewel bundle review

The Jewel Bundle 1 is the first two novels in the Jewel Trilogy by Hallee bridgeman:  "Sapphire Ice" and "Greater Than Rubies".   Both books are so short they could really be one novel.  The total is about 300 pages.  In "Sapphire" Robin, a hard-working waitress, putting her sisters through school, meets Tony, a streetwise billionaire and the two of them start a love/hate relationship.  As time goes on they two become romantically linked and Tony leads Robin to God. Both are from extreme backgrounds with homelessness, abuse, and neglect.  In "Rubies",   Robin had come from a very abusive past, including sexual, and has serious doubts about marrying and sex. 
This is a good 'pass the time' book. It's not real deep or complicated. I felt with the topic matter it could have been more.  For instance maybe not all of the characters from the lesser-than-society turn out well with a quick prayer. As for the writing itself, the writer has a great eye for leading the reader into the story line.  The Robin character is great.  I felt I really got to know  her. It's a nice romance.  Perfect for the beach or kids' naps.   I didn't really like Tony.  They way he acted when they first met was a bit on the sexual harassment side.  I would have liked the writer to go more into the sisters' characters.  Sarah looks like she could be an interesting one to elaborate on and Maxine was left wide open.  Maybe that is all in book 3.  I received this book for free from www.bookfun.org. 

burning sky review

"Burning Sky" by Lori Benton is not the Christian historical novel that you expect.  Willa "Burning Sky" was kidnapped by Mohawk Indians when she was 14 shortly before the Revolutionary War.  She was hidden and kept for 12 years.  She had married a Mohawk and had children before she went back to her childhood home near Shiloh.  When she arrives she takes in a wounded man and they live in her parents abandoned home.  She comes back in contact with her childhood friends and neighbors only to discover that she is not entirely welcome and her parents are believed to be Tories.
In this novel, Willa is not your typical damsel in distress.  She is a tough, independent woman who has blended both worlds into one being.  She cares little for reputation or propriety.  She wants what she in entitled to and is willing to fight for it.  The reader will come to love Willa quickly.  This novel also covers the centuries old ordeal of post traumatic stress disorder or whatever it is called during whatever war is happening at the time.  This is a good novel and I give it a A-.  I received this book for free from blogging for books at Multnomah publishing.

fatal tide review

"Fatal Tide" by Lis Wiehl is the last novel in the East Salem series.  The series star Tommy, a former NFL star turned private detective, and Dani, who works with the District Attorney.  The two have been following a series of events that involve a private school for the elite boys of the world and world wide demonic events.  In this finale, the two and their team unite to prevent the demons from contaminating the drinking water of the world with a drug that turns everyone into super-soldiers. 
This book has all the conspiracy/paranormal stuff of the world.  Demonic beasts, demons, angels, twinstincts, and super drugs.  It almost has too much.  It would be more intense if it were more believable.  I liked the first book in the series much more than the rest of the books.  However, this book is essential to the series.  I would give it a B-.  I received this book for free from www.booksneeze.com.