"A Light in the Window" Book Review {Giveaway}

*The October book giveaway winners have been announced! Congrats and thanks so much to everyone who visited and entered.*

In case you are new here, I will say it again: I am a huge fan of Julie Lessman! After reading both her Daughters of Boston and Winds of Change series, I am so excited she decided to write the prequel – Marcy's story...

A Light in the Window
One Woman. Two Men.
One stirs her pulse and the other her faith.
But who will win her heart?

Marceline Murphy is a gentle beauty with a well-founded aversion to rogues. But when two of Boston's most notorious pursue her, she encounters a tug-of-war of the heart she isn’t expecting. Sam O’Rourke is the childhood hero she’s pined for, the brother of her best friend and a member of the large, boisterous family to which she longs to be a part. So when his best friend Patrick O’Connor joins in pursuit of her affections, the choice seems all too clear. Sam is from a family of faith and Patrick is not, two rogues whose wild ways clash head-on with Marcy’s—both in her faith and in her heart.

While overseeing the Christmas play fundraiser for the St. Mary’s parish soup kitchen—A Light in the Window—Marcy not only wrestles with her attraction to both men, but with her concern for their spiritual welfare. The play is based on the Irish custom of placing a candle in the window on Christmas Eve to welcome the Holy Family, and for Marcy, its message becomes deeply personal. Her grandmother Mima cautions her to guard her heart for the type of man who will respond to the "light in the window," meaning the message of Christ in her heart. But when disaster strikes during the play, Marcy is destined to discover the truth of the play’s message first-hand when it becomes clear that although two men have professed their undying love, only one has truly responded to “the light in the window.”

 

My thoughts:  
Even if I had never heard of Julie Lessman before, just the fact that this book is labeled "An Irish Christmas Love Story" would have been enough to make me pick it up...

Writers amaze me. As someone who can't keep up with what is going on in my own life, I don't know how they keep all the characters and facts straight. Going 'back' and writing the love story that started two series? Julie Lessman is a genius!
  
I absolutely loved A Light in the Window! These characters have already become real to me over the past several books, so reading their love story was icing on the cake. Like anything Julie writes, you will go through tons of emotions. She has a way of writing that provokes you to feel what they are feeling and that is a gift. I find myself smiling, laughing, crying and yelling when reading her stories. 

Marcy's story did not disappoint me at all. It is filled with depth and emotion and even though (as someone who has read all the other books) I knew how it would end, it kept me guessing all the way to the end!

Thanks Julie and please (please, please!) write Gabe's story, too!

Note:

A Light in the Window is the prequel to The Daughters of Boston and Winds of Change series. If you have never read anything by Julie Lessman, start with this book. And I am sure I don’t have to say… if you have read EVERYTHING by Julie, you will have to read it!

About the author:
Julie Lessman is the popular author of A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed, and A Passion Denied, as well as A Hope Undaunted, which was one of 2010's Booklist Top Ten Inspirational Fiction winners, and A Heart Revealed. Lessman has garnered several writing awards, including ten Romance Writers of America awards. She lives in Missouri.

The extras:
Check out Julie’s website for more great information, book excerpts and contests!

Don’t miss my reviews of Julie’s A Heart Revealed and A Love Surrendered.

The giveaway and fine print: 
The winner will receive a digital Kindle copy of Julie Lessman’s A Light in the Window.

A Light in the Window releases on November 9^th, pre-order your copy now! If you pre-order and then are chosen as the winner, I will send you an Amazon gift certificate instead.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed are all mine and I was not required to give a positive review. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Lethal Legacy" Book Review {Giveaway}

I was so excited to get my hands on the latest Irene Hannon book, but sad that this is the last one in the Guardians of Justice series! 

If you haven't read the series, you can download book number one, Fatal Judgement, free from Amazon for a limited time. And don't miss my reviews of Fatal Judgement and book two,  Deadly Pursuit. (Note: All three of these amazing books can be read as a stand alone novel, so don't worry about going in order!)

Irene Hannon is an award winning author and you will know why the first time you open one of her books.

About the book: 

Kelly Warren is on a mission to prove her father’s death wasn’t suicide, but Detective Cole Taylor doesn't put much credence in her claim. Nothing in his case review suggests foul play until Kelly ends up in the emergency room with a suspicious life-threatening medical condition. The incident strikes him as more than just coincidence. Digging deeper, he discovers she's linked to a long-ago crime. Is history repeating itself? And who wants Kelly silenced?

About the author:   

Irene Hannon is the author of more than 35 novels, including the bestselling Heroes of Quantico and Guardians of Justice series. Her books have been honored with two coveted RITA awards from Romance Writers of America, a Carol Award, a HOLT Medallion, a Daphne du Maurier Award and two Reviewers' Choice Awards from RT Book Reviews magazine. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri.  

For more information about her and her books, visit her web site at www.irenehannon.com and follow her on Twitter at @IreneHannon.

My thoughts:  

What can I say about Irene that I haven't already said? She is an amazing story teller and I always enjoy her books. I so appreciate a thriller that has romance, but it doesn't take over the story. I also love that she does her research and carefully weaves a story that 'could' happen in real life. Every time I finish one of her books, I want to run off and join the FBI or NCIS. 

Lethal Legacy did not disappoint me at all. It was a great story from beginning to end. Kelly was someone believable and I liked her from the start. I loved having characters from the other two books make appearances. Like I said before, I am sad this series is over! Cole is a great hero and you will want him to be with Kelly as much as I did before the book ends. The bad guys, well I hate to give anything away, but they are more of the great characters that Irene Hannon is famous for! 

The prize and the fine print:

The winner will be mailed one copy of Lethal Legacy via media mail.

This mailing is limited to USA (including APO/FPO) and CAN addresses. (Sorry, the costs to ship overseas were killing my blog budget!) 

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed are all mine and I was not required to give a positive review.

Lethal Legacy is available August 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Use the new, handy-dandy Rafflecopter widget to enter for the prize!

(Note: When it says to leave a comment, you must post a comment below the blog post to be entered to win!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MilSpouse Appreciation Day - Blog Hop 2012

Welcome to Our Crazy Life! 

I am Athena, mom to six kiddos and wife to one Soldier - who has recently returned from his second extended vacation to the Middle East (courtesy of the U.S. Army). 

The Soldier with his Army brats

The Soldier and I have been married for almost 20 years. We have one college girl, one high-schooler, one in junior high, two in grade school and one preschooler. We stay pretty busy between sports, dance, 4H and everything else. 

It's a crazy life, but I love it.  

I am a writer (writer just sounds so much better than facebook junkie). I just wish I had more time to do so. I may have to give up housework to devote more time to it. 

Okay, so I am not really a housework kind of girl - there are more important things in life.   

Some of my ramblings... 

How to Help a Mom During Deployment

Building Community - Army Style

Beating the Deployment Blues

I would love to know what you think! 

I live love to read. Most of my blog posts (if I am not griping about deployment) are devoted to free ebooks for Kindle. I will read two to three books a week, so I am saving the Soldier a pretty penny by not buying any. Maybe I can convince him to let me spend it on jewelry instead... 

My latest free book post

BBC 100 Book Challenge
(make sure to double check prices as they change frequently!)

I do a book review from time to time (anything for free books!) and host an occasional giveaway. If you want to be notified when the giveaways are up or when a new free book is posted, feel free to like Our Crazy Life on facebook (it also helps my self esteem to have people like me...). 

My biggest passion is volunteering for Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS). I can't even begin to tell you what a difference getting involved with a group of moms - who are experiencing the same things I am - did for me. I now have friends all over the world thanks to MOPS. Plus, I get to travel (sans kids) a couple of times of year for training and girl time. 

And yes, we have groups especially for Military moms that meet on installations all over the world! If you are a mommy, you need mommy time and MOPS can help! 

Note: If you are a mom, come back tomorrow for my latest giveaway -  a copy of "Mom Connection" with a bag of goodies - just in time for Mother's Day!

I have had a blast since I started blogging and have met several wonderful women and enjoy following their adventures in this crazy world we call Military life. When I need a laugh or a little perspective I check out Witty Little Secret (trust me, you will LOVE her), Household 6 Diva or Riding the Roller Coaster. 

I know what you are thinking, this is getting a little long for an introduction ;0)  

Anyway, I love to chat and would love to get you know you! I spend way too much time on facebook so come over and say hello.

And don't forget to link up!

  

Love, 

"Baroness" Book Review & Giveaway

I have been waiting for SO long for the second book in Susan May Warren's Daughters of Fortune series! 

Well okay, it might have only been a few months, but FEELS like forever... 

Heiress, the first book in the series, was one of those books that you can't stop thinking about, even long after you finish it. When you read a book that amazing, you wonder how in the world can the sequel compare. Let me tell you, Baroness - if at all possible - is even more amazing!

About the book:

Baroness
Book Two in the Daughters of Fortune series

 

Lily and Rose, daughters of an empire coming of age in the roaring twenties, can have anything they want ... except freedom.

Expected to marry well and to take the reins of the empire, they have their lives planned out for them. But, Lily, Esme's daughter longs to return home to Montana, to adventure outside the confines of New York City. And Jinx's daughter Rosie dreams of the bright lights of the newly emerging silver screen. But following their dreams - from avant garde France, to Broadway, to the skies in the world of barnstormers and wing-walkers will take all their courage.

And if they find love, will they choose freedom or happily ever after? 

My thoughts:

I have said it before, but I love Susan May Warren! She is one of the few authors that I will buy anything they write, without even having to read the synopsis or reviews. I just know it will be good. Make that AMAZING! 

Baroness is the second book in her Daughters of Fortune series (but can be read as a stand alone novel). It continues the story of a privileged New York family, who finds that money cannot buy happiness. 

Set in the Roaring Twenties, cousins Lilly and Rosie find adventures in Paris, New York and other places along the way, but can't seem to find happiness, true love or the peace they so long for. 

As any dreamer, I love books with adventure, daring feats and the mob thrown in for good measure. The romantic in me loves the romance that Paris offers and the history buff (okay, addict) in me LOVES the time period and historical accuracy. Thankfully, I can experience all of this in one great Susan May Warren book! She tells a story like no one else can and Baroness is one book that I will be re-reading in the future and re-living in my head for weeks!

About the author:

Susan May Warren is the RITA award-winning novelist of over thirty novels. A five-time Christy award finalist, a two-time RITA Finalist, she’s also a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award, and the ACFW Carol Award.

A seasoned women’s events speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!

She is also the founder of MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice. You can find her online at www.susanmaywarren.com.

The Extras:

Read what others are saying about Baroness on the blog tour and don't miss your chance to win a Kindle Fire at Susan's facebook party! 

Find out more from Behind the Pages on Susan's website.

 

And now, my giveaway!

How to enter:

1. Main entry - Leave a comment letting me know you want to win!

Bonus entries - You must leave a separate comment for each in order for it to count!

2. Like "Our Crazy Life" on Facebook (or if you already do, leave a comment letting me know!)

3. Share this post on Facebook - or any other social networking site using the "Share the Love" buttons below the post. One Bonus entry per 'share', make sure to leave a comment for each entry! (P.S. You can share 1x a day for each site!)

4. Follow me on Google Friend Connect (or if you already do, leave a comment letting me know!)

5. Add my button to your blog (worth two entries, leave two comments!)

Please make sure to leave your email address (mama2six {at} bresnan {dot} net) or another way to contact you (i.e. your own blog) in your comments!

Contest will end Thursday, 5/10/2012, at 10:00 pm CST and the winner will be chosen by a random number generator.

The winner will be mailed a copy of Susan May Warren's Baroness via media mail.

*Fine Print: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed are all mine and I was not required to give a positive review.

I hope you win! ;)

Love,

Win a Kindle Fire from Susan May Warren!

Find out what the reviewers are saying here!

Expected to marry well and to take the reins of the family empire, they have their lives planned out for them. But following their dreams -- from avant garde France, to Broadway, to the skies in the world of barnstormers and wing-walkers -- will take all their courage.  And if they find love, will they choose freedom or happily ever after?

Celebrate with Susan by entering her Roaring 20's Giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire
• Signed copies of Baroness and Heiress by Susan May Warren

But hurry, the giveaway ends on 5/7/12. The winner will be announced on 5/9/12 on Susan’s blog, Scribbles!

Just click one of the icons below to enter! Tell your friends about Susan's giveaway on FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

"Chasing Mona Lisa" Book Review and Giveaway

First, I am excited to announce the winner of Married Mom, Solo Parent is Say What?, fellow MilSpouse and mom of two boys! 

I really wish I could give a book to each one who entered, but I don't think the Soldier would go for that! If you are a mom who has a husband who is gone a lot - for whatever reason - please consider getting a copy of this book by Carla Anne Coroy. You can read my review and what it has meant to me here.

And before I get really excited and forget to mention it, there is still time to enter an iPod Touch Spy Pack and you won't want to miss the Facebook party and live author chat!

On to the main business...

Let's just say, I have never met a Tricia Goyer book I didn't love! My teenagers feel the same way, so I am very thankful to have been provided with an extra copy to giveaway. I know I won't see mine again until the 16 year old is done with it!

About the book:

It is August 1944 and Paris is on the cusp of liberation. As the soldiers of the Third Reich flee the Allied advance, they ravage the country, stealing countless pieces of art. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring will stop at nothing to claim the most valuable one of all, the Mona Lisa, as a post-war bargaining chip to get him to South America. Can Swiss OSS agents Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler rescue DaVinci's masterpiece before it falls into German hands?

With nonstop action, Chasing Mona Lisa is sure to get readers' adrenaline pumping as they join the chase to save the most famous painting in the world. From war-ravaged Paris to a posh country chateau, the race is on - and the runners are playing for keeps.

Read an excerpt, watch a video and find out more here. 

My thoughts:

Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey make a great team! It is not everyday you can read a book that is co-authored and not be able to see the 'seams'. Each chapter flows effortlessly and with no uncomfortable transitions.

But the main reason I love anything by Tricia? I am a stickler for historical accuracy and I so appreciate all of the research and time that she puts into her books. Chasing Mona Lisa is no different.

Chasing Mona Lisa is the second book (stand alone) in the story of Swiss OSS agents Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler. They will take you on a journey through Paris, during the liberation of France, on their quest to rescue the Mona Lisa, with a few surprises along the way. 

Filled with everything a good book needs - romance, mystery, deception and a kidnapping for good measure - Chasing Mona Lisa will keep you up all night reading. You won't be able to put it down!

About the authors:

Tricia Goyer is the co-author of The Swiss Courier as well as the author of many other books, including Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights, both past winners of the ACFW's Book of the Year Award for Long Historical Romance. Goyer lives with her family in Arkansas. For more about Tricia and her other books visit www.triciagoyer.com

 

Mike Yorkey is the author or co-author of dozens of books, including The Swiss Courier and the bestselling Every Man's Battle series. Married to a Swiss native, Yorkey lived in Switzerland for 18 months. He and his family currently reside in California. For more about Mike and his other books visit www.mikeyorkey.com 

Want to see what others are saying about Chasing Mona Lisa? Click here for the blog tour line-up!

And last, but not least, the giveaway!

How to enter:

1. Main entry - Leave a comment answering this question: If you were a spy, what cool spy 'gadget' would you most want?

Bonus entries - You must leave a separate comment for each in order for it to count!

2. Like "Our Crazy Life" on Facebook (or if you already do, leave a comment letting me know!)

3. Share this post on Facebook - or any other social networking site using the "Share the Love" buttons below the post. One Bonus entry per 'share', make sure to leave a comment for each entry! (P.S. You can share 1x a day for each site!)

4. Follow me on Google Friend Connect (or if you already do, leave a comment letting me know!)

5. Add my button to your blog (Worth two entries, leave two comments!)

Make sure you leave a way to contact you, either by having your reply-to email address set or by leaving your email address in your posts.

Contest will end Thursday, 2/6/2012, at 10:00 pm CST and the winner will be chosen by a random number generator.

The winner will be mailed a copy of Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey's Chasing Mona Lisa via media mail.

*Fine Print: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed are all mine and I was not required to give a positive review.

I hope you win! ;)

Love,

Free & Bargain ebooks for Kindle 11-7-11

I am headed out to spend some time with the 13 year-old and see one of my favorite tenors in concert tonight. It was supposed to be a late anniversary trip with the Soldier, but he still isn't home. 

So, no time for a full post today, but I wanted to let you know that I just put several great free and bargain books up on the Facebook page. If they last, I will add them to the Free E-books page when I get a chance. 

Reminders:

• Prices change often and without notice. Books are usually only free (or bargains) for a limited time. Always check the price before clicking 'download'.
• You can read these books, even if you don't have a Kindle, by downloading the free app for your computer or phone. For a full list of apps, please click here. Amazon has just announced a new line of Kindles for as low as $79 or read in color (and lots more!) on a Kindle Fire for only $199.
• Please consider following my blog on Google Friend Connect or by 'liking' my Facebook page. I will post books as soon as I find them on Facebook and they aren't always free long enough to make it to the blog.
• If you download a book, please share this page with your friends (via facebook, twitter, etc.). And please leave a comment, I love to hear from you!
• If you enjoy the free book posts, please consider shopping through my links when you do purchase from Amazon. The small commission I receive for your purchase helps me justify all the time I spend on this blog to my Soldier! Thanks :)

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" Review & Giveaway

*If you haven't read it, check out my review of Susan May Warren's Heiress.

I know what you are thinking... My poor kids are starving because Susan May Warren wrote another book, but I promise you - I did feed them and then stayed up way too late because I couldn’t put it down!

About the book:

Hope finds the hopeless when a storm hits.

It's Christmas weekend 1949, and despite the threat of a storm, the townspeople of Frost are determined to continue their holiday traditions, if only as a means to forget the war that they had all just suffered through. But the suffering hasn't ended for Dottie Morgan who lost her only son in the war. She's preparing to wallow in her isolation for the weekend, when Violet, nearly a spinster at age 29, dares to make a request that will force Dottie to publicly revive the memory of her dead son.

When a storm traps the two women at home with a strange young man who has an unbelievable confession and a neighbor with more to do with Violet's past than she would like, no one can predict how this Christmas will give them all a second chance. 

Read an excerpt here.

My thoughts:

Baby, It’s Cold Outside was a delightful story. As always, I enjoy Susan's descriptive story telling, she makes you feel like you are really there - in the middle of the story. You can almost feel the cold from the blizzard and the warmth of the fire.

Dottie is going to rediscover the real gift of Christmas and God has sent some unlikely people to help... Violet and Jake, Gordie and Arnie all help bring hope to the storm house and find some of their own along the way.

You will fall in love with the characters as you read their heartaches, struggles and fears. They may just have you looking at Christmas a little different this year.

About the author:

Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia, Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.

Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you! She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son)!

A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at www.susanmaywarren.com.

Read what others are saying here and then click on the button below for a chance to win Kindle Fire: 

Now for the book giveaway!

Free & Bargain ebooks for Kindle 10-3-11

There are some great free and bargain books this week. In fact, after working with kids at church yesterday, I did nothing but lounge around and read. It was kind of nice, but I am playing catch up today. Monday, ugh.

I currently have two contests to win a book going on now. Don't miss you chance to own a copy of Susan May Warren's Heiress (runs through the 6th of Oct) or Julie Lessman's A Heart Revealed (ends 10/3 - only a few hours left!). I will have a few more book giveaways coming up soon! 

I am excited to announce that karenk is the winner of Deadly Pursuit by Irene Hannon! Watch your email :) 

Before the books, just a few reminders: 

• Prices change often and without notice. Books are usually only free (or reduced) for a limited time. Always check the price before clicking 'download'.
• You can read these books, even if you don't have a Kindle, by downloading the free app for your computer or phone. For a full list of apps, please click here. Amazon has just announced a new line of Kindles for as low as $79 or read in color (and lots more!) on a Kindle Fire for only $199.
• Please consider following my blog on Google Friend Connect or by 'liking' my Facebook page. I will post books as soon as I find them on Facebook and they aren't always free long enough to make it to the blog.
• If you download a book, please 'Share the Love' by using the buttons below each post to let your friends know. And please leave a comment, I love to hear from you!
• If you enjoy the free book posts, please consider shopping through my links when you do purchase from Amazon. The small commission I receive for your purchase helps me justify all the time I spend on this blog to my Soldier! Thanks :)

Sorry, no texts links today. Please click on the image to go to the download page!


Read my review of Lady in the Mist here!











Bargain books:

Only $3.99 - I will be reviewing and giving away a copy of the 2nd book in the series, Along Wooded Paths: A Big Sky Novel,later on this month.

$2.99
$2.99
$1.99
$3.99
$2.99
$2.99
$2.99
$.99
$1.99

Happy Reading!

Love,