"The Heiress of Winterwood" by Sarah Ladd {Book Review}

From Bronte and Austen to Downton Abbey, I love a good dramatic romance set in the moors of England. Complete with dashing Englishmen, beautiful estates and a good measure of intrigue, The Heiress of Winterwood was a wonderfully engaging read I couldn't put down!

About the book:

Amelia Barrett gave her word. Keeping it could cost her everything.
Darbury, England, 1814

Amelia Barrett, heiress to an estate nestled in the English moors, defies family expectations and promises to raise her dying friend's baby. She'll risk everything to keep her word-even to the point of proposing to the child's father-a sea captain she's never met.

When the child vanishes with little more than an ominous ransom note hinting at her whereabouts, Amelia and Graham are driven to test the boundaries of their love for this little one.

Amelia's detailed plans would normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she's forced to examine her soul and face her one weakness: pride.

Graham's strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own discipline. And away from the family he has sworn to love and protect.

Both must learn to have faith and relinquish control so they can embrace the future ahead of them.

My thoughts:
Not often do I have the problem of dying to finish a book, yet not wanting it to end. Reading The Heiress of Winterwood was excruciating in this way! I loved it so much, I couldn't put it down, but I didn't want to read it, because I didn't want it to end! 

The story is so well written, it will keep you on the edge of your seat. Throughout the entire book, my heart was in my throat and my heart was racing. It was such an amazing book! Sarah Ladd has a wonderful gift and I really enjoyed her style.

Amelia, Graham and - even little Lucy - are wonderful characters. You will fall in love with all of them. From Amelia's proposal to Lucy's kidnapping to the very last page of the book, I was spellbound. I can't wait for the next one!  

About the author:
Sarah E. Ladd has more than ten years of marketing experience. She is a graduate of Ball State University and holds degrees in public relations and marketing. Heiress of Winterwood was the recipient of the 2011 Genesis Award for historical romance. Sarah lives in Indiana with her amazing husband, sweet daughter, and spunky Golden Retriever.

Find out more about Sarah at http://www.sarahladd.com.

Read what others are saying about The Heiress of Winterwood here. 
  
The giveaway:  

Sarah Ladd is celebrating the release of The Heiress of Winterwood with a Downton Abbey Kindle Prize Pack Giveaway!

 One winner will receive:

• A brand new Kindle Fire
• Downton Abbey, seasons 1-3

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on April 30th. Winner will be announced on 5/2/13 {HERE}.

Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and 

increase your chances of winning.

The 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.

 

The Husband Project Book Review {Giveaway}

*Don't miss my other giveaway going on. Enter for your chance to win a copy of The Carnelian Legacy!*

Is your marriage stuck in a rut? Or maybe just want to find new ways to show your husband how much he means to you? You need this book...

About the book:
Do you feel like your marriage has gone from "I do" to "What did I do?" Recapture the romance that made you and your husband fall in love in the first place. 

The Husband Project provides 21 days of fun activities to show love and honor to your husband. 

Kathi Lipp will help you discover:

• Proven ways to return fun and flirting to your marriage.
• Inner assurance to meet your husband’s unspoken emotional needs.
• Increased confidence when it comes to meeting your husbands sexual needs.
• New levels of warmth and tenderness in your relationship.
• A deeper sense of security with your husband.
• A greater ability to boost your husband's belief in himself.

My thoughts:
I love, love, love Kathi Lipp! She is a super fun, extremely talented woman and I am so thankful for her advice and encouragement in so many areas. I have been blessed to hear Kathi speak in person and so when I read her books, her voice is always in my head. It's a great way to read a book :)

The Husband Project is one of her many genius ideas. She takes you through a 21 day guide "of loving your man, on purpose and with a plan" - so easy and step by step. Your husband won't know what hit him!

Each chapter is short, easy to read and outlined with your project, a prayer for the day, getting creative, project reports from other readers and a place to record your plan and your results. This book becomes your personal journal on how to make your husband feel loved. Amazing idea, right? 

From daily projects such as E-flirt.com (texting your husband some sweet nothings) to Kathi's bonus projects, you will find fun, easy and inexpensive ways to bless your husband. 

Not only will you spend 21 days making your husband feel special, you will have spent 21 days praying for him and doing something that will draw you closer together. This book is a must have for any married woman!  

About the Author:
Kathi Lipp is a busy conference and retreat speaker and the of The Husband Project: 21 Days to Loving Your Man—on Purpose and with a Plan, The Marriage Project: 21 Daysto More Love and Laughter, and The Me Project: 21 Days to Living the Life You’ve Always Wanted and The “What’s for Dinner?” Solution. She is a frequent guest on Focus on the Family and dozens of other radio programs.

Church leaders and women’s ministry directors rely on Kathi to help women move from living out of obligation to enjoying godly passion. She speaks to thousands of women across the US and Canada every year. 

Kathi and her husband, Roger, are the parents of four young adults and live in San Jose, California. Find out more about Kathi at www.kathilipp.com

The extras:
Don't miss my reviews of Kathi's other great books: The Get Yourself Organized Project and Praying God's Word for Your Husband.  
Check out Kathi's website for lots more, including a Leader's Kit, so you can encourage your bible study or small group through The Husband Project. 

The fineprint:
I was given a promotional copy of this book for review purposes. All of the opinions expressed are mine and I was not required to give a positive review.

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"The Carnelian Legacy" Review {Giveaway}

I am so excited to review The Carnelian Legacy, not just because it is an amazing book, but because the author is pretty amazing as well. I met Chery Koevoet while we were both serving as volunteers for MOPS International and I am blessed to call her my friend. (And I am not just saying that because she let me read her book early!

About the book: 

Marisa MacCallum always believed the man of her dreams was out there somewhere. The problem is—he’s in a parallel universe.

After the death of her father, eighteen-year-old Marisa’s life is on the verge of imploding. She seeks comfort on her daily ride in the woods of Gold Hill but when a mysterious lightning storm suddenly strikes, Marisa is hurled into the ancient alternate dimension of Carnelia.

There she meets the arrogant but attractive nobleman, Darian Fiore. With no hope of returning home on her own, Marisa must join Darian on a risky mission to negotiate peace with his cousin and archenemy, Savino da Roca. As she struggles to survive a world teeming with monsters, maniacs and medieval knights, Marisa sees a softer side of Darian and begins to fall in love. But when she discovers he is locked into an arranged marriage, her heart shatters.  

After Savino falls for her charms and demands her hand in marriage in exchange for peace, Marisa is faced with an impossible choice: marry the enemy of the man she loves or betray them both and become the catalyst for a bloody war.

My thoughts: 
To be completely honest with you, I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. Sure, I had a friend who had a book published and I was thrilled for her and I loved the cover, but life has been super crazy over the past year and I am just trying to stay above water... 

Let me tell you: I was blown away with the first few chapters! I noticed right away that Cheryl's writing style is different than what you see every day. I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out who to compare her to, but there is really no comparison! She is incredibly gifted and writes in such a descriptive way, it makes everything come alive in vivid detail. Now I know, this is a fantasy book, but I was so drawn in and involved that the whole book became completely real and believable. 

The Carnelian Legacy is a modern day fairy tale, with a surprising twist! It will keep you reading long into the night (way after you should be in bed!) and you won't want to put it down. I can't wait to share it with my teenage daughters. (Can I say - major bonus that it is something I can let my teenagers read without worrying what they will encounter.) 

I can honestly say it is the best book I have read and is my new favorite. I fell in love with Carnelia and her people and I cannot wait to read book two!
 

About the author:

Cheryl Koevoet was born in a suburb of Portland, Oregon. She began a lifelong love affair with books the same day she entered kindergarten when her teacher read The LollipopDragon out loud.

From an early age she developed a craving for books that wove magical tales about faraway lands, the distant past, and futuristic worlds. Among her favorite stories growing up were The Chronicles of Narnia, the Little House on the Prairie series, the poems of Shel Silverstein, Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little and anything penned by Roald Dahl. 

Cheryl’s wanderlust continued when she traveled to Los Angeles to study Art History at BIOLA University and later continued her education at Portland State University. She met and married a Dutch national and moved to The Netherlands where she still lives today with her husband and four teenagers near The Hague. Her day job and experiencing life in a foreign culture are both unending sources of inspiration for writing energetic stories than enthrall, inspire and entertain.

The Carnelian Legacy is her debut novel and she is nearing completion on its sequel, The Carnelian Tyranny. A third book in the trilogy, The Carnelian Sovereignity as well as a prequel book, The Carnelian Dynasty are both scheduled for release in 2014.

Her next project, The Bulb of Greet Prys is a historical novel about life in Holland in the Golden Age during tulipmania.

For more information, visit Cheryl's website. 

The 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.

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