Book Review: The Crossing by Serita Jakes

Book Review: The Crossing, A Novel by Serita Jakes

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”.

Book Review:

Imprisoned by memories, Claudia Campbell lives each day in the shadow of a ten-year-old murder. Who can set her free?

On the way home from a football game, a decade earlier, a masked gunman opened fire on a Texas school bus. Cheerleading coach BJ Remington was killed, but her murderer was never found. Claudia, who had a close friendship with the young, spirited teacher, constantly relives the anguish of that day, caught in one moment in time. When her husband, the assistant district attorney, becomes determined to uncover the mystery of that tragedy, the secrets buried over the years threaten to tear their family apart.

Officer Casio Hightower will never forget the day his dreams were destroyed. A star quarterback with a promising future, Casio was on top of the world--until one bullet changed everything. He is eager to help Victor Campbell find BJ's killer, the man who shot him. Maybe solving the case will help silence the demons driving Casio to hurt the woman he loves.

As the Campbells and Casio teeter on the brink of losing everything, will they be able to discover that what begins at the crossing ends at the cross?

My Review:

This book came with an enticing cover of a speeding train and the mysteries you know are coming :) Each section of the book is sectioned off by the character's name that you will currently be reading about.Very easy to follow :) Claudia Campbell is stuck back..way back...ten years back in the train that killed her friend and cheerleading coach BJ Remington. The murderer, still on the run, has Claudia's husband Victor intrigued in finding who caused this horrific crime and has kept his wife from living a normal life. However, while wading his way back in time, Victor chances losing the love of his life who does not want to purposely relive any of the past. While Claudia finds out secrets from her parents past, it slowly puts each puzzle piece together of the crime committed so long ago.

Casio Hightower, Claudia's high school boyfriend, also finds himself back in time quite often due to the vision and bullet that punctured him and ended his football career. Now a police officer following in his father's footsteps, he teams up with Victor to finally put an end to the terror that haunts himself and Claudia every day of their lives. But...can this man relive his past without destroying his future?

Product Review: Triple Action Purex UltraPacks

As a Purex Insider, I recently recived a free sample of Triple Action Purex UltraPacks.

These packs were super convenient, avoiding the mess of laundry soap everywhere :)

Just turn on your water, pop one in and watch it go to work. The scent was not very strong so I did have to use my Purex Crystals with the UltraPacks.

Easy enough the kids could even do it!!!

Product Review: Purex Crystals and Jockey

As a Purex Insider, I was recently sent a nice little package consisting of a 2012 Jockey Tech Terry Performance Sports Bra and a bottle of 2012 Tropical Splash Purex Crystals.

Although the Jockey Tech Terry Performance Bra was a little snug, I did manage to get it on and use it so I could test it and the Crystals to wash it with.

The bra is an extremely comfortable item. It is breatheable, soft, flush with the stomach area, etc...The Jockey sports bra features moisture wicking technology to keep you dry and your body cool while you work out.  Since Purex Crystals contain no oil, it will keep this bra in tact through many washes :) You can currently get a 20% coupon for Jockey to use on the sportsbra :)

The new Tropical Splash scent is very suttle, but nice and what I absolutely love about this fabric softener is that  it can be used on all types of laundry since oil isn't used in it . I am a huge fan of Purex Crystals after receiving a sample a while back of the blue ones. Personally, I still go with my favorite (blue) They are definitely a great product in that they do leave your clothing smelling very fresh and keep your clothes in wonderful condition!!

Buy these or any of the others in the Purex Crystals line...they are an awesome product!!!

Book Review: Cliques, Hicks and Ugly Sticks, Confessions of April Grace

Book Review: Cliques, Hicks and Ugly Sticks, Confessions of April Grace by KD McCrite



"I received this book for free from BookSneeze for this review”.


Book Review: A clique of mean girls, a grandma--yes, you heard it--a grandma stuck in a love triangle, a church pageant run by a dictator, and a mom who's acting very mysterious--it all sounds like a disaster, but it's just another day in the super funny life of April Grace Reilly.

Here are just a couple of April's confessions--

On the Clique at her school: "There are four other girls in her little group and they call themselves 'the Lotties'. Melissa and I call them 'the Snotties"

On Doing Algebra Homework: "I have to say, my friend and I would probably have had more fun if we'd had out teeth extracted by the dog dentist."

Junior High can be rough, but April Grace will help you laugh your way through!!

My Review:  What a gorgeous book cover that really drew me in...April Grace, with her fiery red hair, in her farm boots sitting in a wheelbarrow of leaves in front of a barn. You know already by the cover what April Grace's personality consists of :) She is living in a home with her mother (who has been acting strangely lately), a father (who is running their farm) a sister (who has to be everyone's boss) a couple; Isabel and Ian St. James (Ian works on the farm and they are waiting to finish their own home) and a Grandmother who lives just across the field, but is in and out. When Grace's mother starts to look and feel ill, everyone does what they can to make her feel more comfortable. People moving out, people moving in etc...While Grace is dealing with life at home, she is also dealing with the pressures of school; grades, friends and bullies. Will Grace be able to keep everything together in her life and keep her sense of humor while doing it all?!!!! A great book that I couldn't put down :)

Book Review: Shadows on the Sand

Book Review: Shadows on the Sand, A Seaside Mystery by Gayle Roper

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”.

Book Review:

She serves him breakfast at her cafe' every morning...but he never seems to notice her.

Carrie Carter's small cafe' in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals...although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He's recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children--and fromt he year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her.

When Carrie's dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg find himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries...and into her life. But when Carrie's own painful past becomes all too present, her carefully constructed world begins to sink.

Will the fragile relationship she's building with Greg implode fromt he weight of the baggage they both carry?

My Review:

This book came with a beautiful cover of the boardwalk which immediately draws you to want to read it. Carrie, the owner of a cafe in Seaside, New Jersey lives an ordinary life. Living upstairs from the cafe along with her younger sister Lindsay, she has the life she has always wanted. But, she and her sister have a secret about their former life and where they came from. Carrie has eyes for Greg, a regular in the cafe, and former cop. Greg lost his family to a tragic accident years earlier which have left him depressed in his own mind and withdrawn from others. When workers come up missing from the cafe', Greg's cop instincts take on while also finding a way to get to know Carrie. As their search (and becoming closer) progress, Greg starts to worry about whether he wants to give someone else his heart. Once he gets the ok from his "wife" or the Holy Spirit, he proceeds, but almost loses her in a freak accident along the beach. Can his heart take much more?

Book Review: Thank you, God, for Loving me

Book Review: Thank you, God, for Loving me

"I received this book for free from Booksneeze.com for an honest  review”.

Book Review:

My great big God loves me!

This charming board book with sweet, rhyming text helps preschoolers know how much God loves them. God's love is a big concept, but Little Hermie makes it easy for kids to understand by showing the many ways God expresses His love as He cares for us each day.

My Review:

This was the most adorably written book!! It is just the right size that you can keep your child's attention with very colorful pictures. The rhyming passages make it a fun book to read as well! This book truly explains to a little one how much God loves them at all times; day and night, rest and play, big and small. Nestled in a hardback book, you can expect this favorite to stay nice for quite some time :)

Book Review: One Call Away, A Memoir by Brenda Warner

Book Review: One Call Away, A Memoir by Brenda Warner

"I received this book for free from BookSneeze for this review”.

Book Review: What can you do when your well-laid plans fall apart and life takes an unexpected turn? Brenda Warner is best known as the outspoken wife of NFL Superstar and Dancing with the Stars alum Kurt Warner. But year earlier, she found herself living through any woman's nightmare: a healthy baby tragically injured in the bathtub; a sudden end to a career she loved; betrayal and divorce; poverty; public humiliation; and deadly natural disaster that destroyed her foundation and shook her to her core. One shattering phone call at a time, Brenda Warner's life came to resemble little of her dream.

But each time her plans fell apart, Brenda faced a choice; to collapse in the face of tragedy or press forward and survive. She chose to keep going. In the process, she's learned that the unexpected is only one call away. Her story provides hope and encouragement for anyone facing life's challenges and shows us that our circumstances don't tell us who we are, nor are they a measure of God's love. God has a plan for us, even when our plans fail. Brenda's life is proof that sometimes the best dreams are not the ones we dream, but the ones that come true when we least expect them.

My Review: Brenda Warner did a great job in letting us into her personal life for a glance at hard times, sad times and even better, the happy times. From the very beginning, Brenda Warner was a determined young girl who had a lot of faith in God. Throughout her life, she would run into obstacles that would try to pull her from God's path in life. An accident involving her first child and being betrayed by her husband after standing by him. Going from a marine to an unemployed mother of 2 on government assistance. Losing her parents to a deadly tornado. Finding the man of her dreams and being ridiculed in public the choices she made.

Brenda pushed forward no matter what life threw at her and how many times a phone call brought tragedy. God's child from the beginning, she never strayed from her faith and brings encouragement to those who are unsure about their current situation and where they are going in life. She proves to us that even those in bad conditions can come out on top and use their better situation to better others. Photos are included to get a visual of those mentioned in the book. Brenda Warner is a brave person who put her life out there for others to read and relate to. What an inspiration!