I've been reading lots of books this year. I've found a new favorite author and read quite a few books from some of my old favorites. One book I jad the honor of reading before the release is "A Glitter of Gold" by Liz Johnson. I've been reading, reviewing and promoting books for Liz for quite a few years...because honestly, I lpve to read what she writes.

Her books portray real life in fun and different scenarios. They show love, overcoming hardships, grace and faith in Jesus being central without hitting you over the head. I really feel that I learn more about my faith and the application of my faith and life as a Christian through her fiction books.

Liz Johnson's most recent series is based on the Georgia coast. While all three books will take place on the coast they don't have to be read in order of when they were released like many of her series do. A Glitter of Gold will be released August 6th and it'll be one you will want to get from the bookstore because you'll probably want to read it more than once.

Here's the book description from Good Reads...
When pirate wreck tour guide Anne Norris finds evidence of an undiscovered shipwreck, she seeks the help of museum director Carter Hale to uncover the truth and treasure that could save her business. But can she trust him with her secrets and her heart?

My review:
 A Glitter of Gold is a great read about adventure, love, and learning to understand grace and release shame. The story of Anne and her past that haunts her and how she is released from the pain is encouraging, heartfelt and real. The story of Carter trying to make it on his own without his family name giving him help and learning to realize that family is important and that sometimes you find things when you are not even looking for them. This story was heartwarming, engaging and realistic which I really love in a book. Do yourself a favor and add this to your list.

Head over to Good Reads and enter to win your own copy before August 6th!! You won't be disappointed.

I interrupt this blogging silence to bring you some really important news. My friend wrote a book. And it's really good. You really should navigate over to Amazon or B&N and order one for yourself...or even better order three so  you can give two away because this book would make an EXCELLENT Christmas gift!!
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This book is totally worth your time. When I started reading it I felt an immediate connection with the characters and I am pretty sure if they were real people we would be friends...which is why it was so hard to finish the book. I wanted to keep learning more and more about these characters and their incredible story (but good news...there are more books in the series). This book is transparent, authentic and doesn't shy away from struggles, doubt, being scared in the face of war, grace and forgiveness. It's is filled with hope, love and even more grace. It's not some cheesy Christian fiction with war thrown in on the side getting nearly overlooked. It is a book that feels so real it's as though it is someone's personal diary. I have never been to war, my spouse is not in the military but I feel like I have a small glimpse of what the men and women who fight for our country go through. Do yourself a favor and go get a copy for yourself...and maybe some Kleenex to go with it. It feels so real it may even make you cry like it did to me. If any book should be made into a movie this would be one of them!! I cannot wait to read the next two books in the series. I cannot wait to see the characters relationships deepen and learn more of their backstory and see where the future takes them. I hope you get this book soon so that you have some good reading material for the road trips and little breaks around the holidays!!
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.Here's a little Summary

He’s fighting for his country.
She’s praying for his safety.
When tragedy strikes, can their marriage and faith survive?
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Charlie and Meg Winters are no strangers to the military life and the challenges it brings. But when an IED rips through his convoy killing his friends, the loss proves almost too much to bear.
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Meg finds her trust in Christ wavering, and secrets she’s been keeping for years drive a wedge between her and her husband.
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What if everything Meg believes is a lie?
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What if Charlie finds out what she's done?
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Can Meg and Charlie save their marriage or will the horrors of war and the ghosts of their past tear them apart and forever shipwreck her faith?
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You can find it at Amazon, B&N, and elsewhere!!



AND....there's a giveaway. Check out all these awesome goodies that someone has to win...it might as well be you!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I have been blessed to be on three book launch teams over the last two months. And let me tell you these were some fun books to read. A book about summer camp, a book about a church group and a book about love and loss. Three incredible authors allowed me early access to their books and let me tell the world what I think of the books. While I've reviewed the books on websites like Amazon and Goodreads I hadn't told you, my blog readers about these books...and that would be doing you a disservice. Because, these were good books. We can always use a good book or three to read in the summer right? Well, let me tell you about these books a bit. I'll give you my honest review!

The Last Summer at Eden by Christina Hergenrader

Synopsis: Eden, a summer camp in southern California, has hit rock-bottom with low enrollment, a tight budget, and burned-out staff. Can it be saved? Maybe not. This novel incorporates contemporary themes with a traditional good-versus-bad trope for a satisfying read that promotes biblical truths of Gods constancy and provision.

My review: Get read to be whisked away to camp. You can almost smell the campfire, swat the mosquitoes and taste the s'mores (with peanut butter cups of course) as you are taken back to relive you memories of camp or make new ones with Poppi, Jake and the whole crew. This book will leave you with a smile on your face, a tear in your eye and hope in your heart.


The Harvest Raise by Katie Schuermann

My review: I recently moved to a new town, one much like Bradbury, in which my life has many similarities to the main characters in The Harvest Raise. But after moving and leaving behind some very good friends this book made me relive those emotions again. It brought me right into the living rooms, backyards and driveways of these beloved friends. I feel like I am having to say goodbye all over again to a great group of friends whom I have grown to love and whom I wish I could meet in real life. The characters are easy to relate with and their story is so down to earth. You will love wandering through the streets of Bradbury with your new friends. You will laugh with them, learn with them and discover more things about yourself than you ever thought possible from a novel.

I was NOT on the launch team for these next two books but they are part 1 and 2 of the Anthems of Zion series and you really need to read the series as a whole. It's just THAT good!!

House of Living Stones by Katie Schuermann (book 1 in the Anthems of Zion series)
Synopsis: In the small Illinois town of Bradbury, change doesn't come often, and it certainly doesn't come easily. So when Pastor Fletcher hires Emily Duke as the new choir director at Zion Lutheran Church, he unknowingly sets in motion a chain of events that turns the life of his congregation upside down.

The crusty church secretary, Mrs. Scheinberg, must learn to adjust her curmudgeonly ways. Zion's talented but pompous organist, Evan Ebner, must recognize his shortcomings. Emily must come to terms with her past. Even Pastor Fletcher must face reality when his world is shaken by the baggage Emily brings and by the handsome Zachary Brandt who pursues her.

With its host of lovable and relatable characters, House of Living Stones will find a special place on your bookshelf and in your heart.
My review: Takes me to a time and place where I can rename the characters to people I know in the flesh. She writes with such a fresh perspective and clear characters that you can't help but fall in love with because they are all so familiar. What a wonderful story about a small town with a strong Lutheran church. Even if you're not Lutheran I can guess you'd find yourself shaking your head because you would be able to recognize some of the characters from your own church.


The Choir Immortal by Katie Schuermann (book 2 in the Anthems of Zion series)

Synopsis: The people of Zion are at it again. Two of their very own are getting married, and everyone is pleased as punch to be hosting Bradbury’s wedding of the century. Their collective joy is short-lived, however, as busted air-conditioners, melting cakes, and a trip to the emergency room intrude upon the celebration.

Yet the congregation rallies. Lead by Pastor Fletcher and the stalwart Mrs. Scheinberg, they turn in faith to God’s promises of life and salvation to see one another through trying days that demand patience, prayer, and perhaps another batch of cinnamon rolls.

Emily Duke, Pastor Fletcher, and the rest of Zion’s quirky flock return in this compelling sequel to House of Living Stones, proving that life in a small-town is anything but small. 
My review: Once again the characters come to live and you feel as though you've known them your whole life. Katie is not afraid to tell it like it is and deal with the tough issues. Make sure you've got your tissues ready because this book hits on the raw, hard to deal with emotions time and again. You will fall in love with their stories even more as you return to Bradbury again!

On Loves Gentle Shore by Liz Johnson (Prince Edwards Island Dreams book #3)
My review: When you need to read a book that will leave you with hope in humanity and the ability to know that not everything goes right ALL the time then this is the book you need to read. Natalie is a lovable, yet confused woman who will have you cheering for her from the beginning. You may even begin to see some of your own traits mirrored in hers. As you read this tale of love and honesty you will be taken away on an adventure that not only leaves you wanting to visit Prince Edward Island but also makes you want to become friends with the lively characters portrayed within these pages.

I also got to be on the launch team for books 1 and 2 of this series and shared them here at some point but let me share them again.

The Red Door Inn by Liz Johnson (Prince Edward Island Dreams book 1)

Seth Sloane didn't move three thousand miles to work on his uncle's B&B so he could babysit a woman with a taste for expensive antiques and a bewildering habit of jumping every time he brushes past her. He came to help restore the old Victorian--and to forget about the fiancée who broke his heart.
The only thing Marie and Seth agree on is that getting the Red Door Inn ready to open in just three months will take everything they've got. Can these two wounded souls find hope, healing, and perhaps a bit of romance on this beautiful island?

Step into the Red Door Inn, a lovely home away from home tucked along the north shore of fabled Prince Edward Island. It's a place where the wounded come to heal, the broken find forgiveness, and the lonely find a family. Won't you stay for the season?

Can someone please tell me why in the world they make you "mail away" for your child's birth certificate? Who in their right, newborn, sleep deprived, zombie state of mind is able to function enough to get that done...well, don't answer that because I'm am sure there are MANY moms who actually get their child's birth certificate in a timely manner. I, however am not one of them. I've had "Get Hannah's birth certificate" on my to-do list for a long time...she is afterall FIVE! Five! I'm so behind the times. It always got pushed to the bottom of the list. But I am proud to tell you that after five long years Hannah finally has a certified official birth certificate. Well, as you can imagine if I didn't have Hannah's I must not have had Abi and Josiah's, and you are correct. However, theirs were easier to get since I actually live in the state where they were born. I just had to go to a place, pay some money and wait three minutes. Easy. Done. Cross it off the list! Yay! Honestly I don't know what has taken me soooo long to get that done but now it is. So yay!

I had to take the three little kids with me when I went to get the local birth certificates and while it was a short visit the girls get restless REALLY fast. Do you have kids like that? Well, I certainly do. But I had something in my purse (which always stays in my purse now) for just a time like this. I have these awesome doodle books that I got from Start Creative and they are always in my purse for moments when I need my kids to sit for a bit and be quiet.
 There are three different books with 32 pages each that have a different doodle prompt on them. These books leave the creative window wide open and just encourage you to "start"! I love these books. I don't have games on my phone for my kids to play so we usually have to resort to "eye spy" or something similar. But these little books are a mini life saver in those "in between" moments. They are great for our wait at the dentist office, the eye doctor, the birth certificate office and even church. I know these seem like something that would be easy to make but honestly when was the last time you ever actually made something from your pinterest board? Oh is that only me? Well for those of you that like to have non-technological things in your bag of tricks to help your kids calmly pass some time please consider these awesome, well made, thoughtful, thought provoking and creative starting books!!



I asked Amy if she would be willing to give you, my readers, a discount for these awesome books and she agreed!! YAY!! So head over to Start Creative and use the code "PUREJOY10" for 10% off your purchase! You will not be disappointed...but hurry the code is only good until March 13th.


These doodle books were given to me free of charge for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own!

I love books! I haven't always been a BIG reader but I love books. I do love to get lost in a good story as well. It's nice to be transported to place and time that is different from the norm for me. This story did exactly that for me. With five kids running around you can imagine how much time I actually have to sit and read a book from start to finish. Most of my books have bookmarks hanging out half way through the book...and most of them never move from that place. That wasn't the case with this book.

This book kept me coming back for more. I wanted to know what happened to the characters. I felt that Marie and I could've been good friends and I wanted to see how her story unfolded. The relationships she has with Jack and Seth were meaningful. The development of the characters and storyline was great...somewhat predictable but not a deal breaker by any means. I was transported to the beautiful Prince Edward Island and I almost started planning my vacation to the Red Door Inn...as long as I can visit the antique store and get some cinnamon rolls that Caden made!

I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a great story that will draw them to a different time and place, where the characters are loveable and have you rooting for them and wanting to give them a hug when things don't go just right. This is an easy read and will have you thirsting for the next book in the series!! Go pick one up today! Goodreads is actually having a giveaway for the book! Go win yourself a copy!


I was given an advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.