Randomness Friday: I've Found Third Day's Twin!

Okay, voices are unique. It's a scientific fact. There's a lot that goes into what makes your voice your voice. Bone structure, size of the vocal chords, anatomy of the mouth, orientation of the tongue and teeth... But I'm telling you, this new band called Cloverton sounds a lot like Third Day. And that is a compliment from me.

Granted, they don't look like twin bands...

Third Day:

 

Not my image

And Cloverton:

Don't believe me?

I present to you, Exhibit A. Cloverton's "Take Me Into the Beautiful" and download the song for FREE here



Exhibit B. Third Day's "Lift Up Your Face"


~*~

So, life has been pretty busy, and I know its only going to get busier... Even in the summer! Yikes! But Thank God that It's Friday! We can all use some rest now and then, that's why God made the Sabbath!

Blessings,

Review of the Mountains Bow Down

The Mountains Bow Down is a book in the Raleigh Harmon mystery novels by Sibella Giorello. Raleigh Harmon thought she was going to get a break from her hectic life as an FBI agent. A cruise to Alaska with her mother, aunt who believes in the power of rocks, and a woman who claims to be a clairvoyant. Okay, a little stress there, but the cruise should be relatively enjoyable, right?

Wrong!

A passenger goes missing, and soon a whole murder investigation ensues, and Raleigh kisses her vacation away. She must solve the case before the cruise ships gets to its destination- and a killer is let loose. The killer is somewhere on the ship, but who is it?
Oh, and then there's the family drama. Raleigh's mother still doesn't know Raleigh is an FBI agent, and Raleigh questions her own resolve to keep the truth from her mother in order to protect her. Things get ugly with Claire the clairvoyant, Raleigh begins to question her decision to marry her fiance, and her old nemesis and fellow FBI agent, Jack Stephanson, comes aboard to help her with the case. Could it get any crazier?

I absolutely love mysteries. To be honest, its not often I find a truly intriguing one. Usually I solve the mystery halfway through and skip to the end. Not so with The Mountains Bow Down. I was kept guessing all through the story, and I absolutely love the depth. Everything's not black and white, and Raleigh still has to deal with family issues while solving the case. I truly felt like this story could really happen. Even though the story is part of a series, I had absolutely no trouble understanding the story. The author does a good job of giving a background without actually telling you in long paragraphs about the character's history. The author's writing style is captivating and totally keeps the reader turning the pages. Raleigh is a tough FBI woman who still has her own insecurities and issues, and I absolutely love the depth the author gave to the character.

However, I did find some questionable content. While on the case, Raleigh briefly has a conversation with a autopsy expert about guys accidentally killing themselves for a not-appropriate thrill. Also, one of the suspects is a dealer of not-appropriate media. It made me thing, "Is this really necessary? Yes, I know the bad guys usually do bad things, but it didn't add much to the plot. I had to skip the gross parts, and that was somewhat saddening, because, apart from the other stuff this book was actually really good.

All in all, I rate this book three out of five stars.

Specifics (from amazon.com)
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (March 1, 2011)

About the author:
Sibella Giorello grew up in Alaska and majored in geology at Mount Holyoke College. After riding a motorcycle across the country, she worked as a features writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Her stories have won state and national awards, including two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize. She now lives in Washington state with her husband and sons. Find out more about Sibella and her other books at her website. www.sibellagiorello.com

Extras:

About The Mountains Bow Down CRUISE Giveaway:

Sibella’s celebrating the release of The Mountains Bow Down by giving away a Cruise prize pack worth over $500.00!

One Grand Prize winner will receive:

• A $500 gift certificate toward the cruise of their choice from Vacations To Go.
• The entire set of the Raleigh Harmon series.

To enter go here!

Then tell your friends. And enter soon - the giveaway ends on 4/1! The winner will be announced at Sibella’s Raleigh Harmon Book Club Party on FB April 5th, 2011! Don’t miss the fun – prizes, books and gab!

About the Facebook Party: Join Sibella and fans of the Raleigh Harmon series on April 5th at 5:00 pm PST (6 MST, 7 CST & 8 EST) for a Facebook Book Club Party. Sibella will be giving away some fun prizes, testing your trivia skills and hosting a book chat about the Raleigh Harmon books. Please RSVP  and if you have questions you'd like to chat about - leave them on the Event page.

  


Note: Thanks to the Litfuse and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book for reviewing purposes.

Blessings,

Randomness Friday: Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da...

Okay, reasons this video is my pick for Randomness Friday:

1. MercyMe (Nuff said there, but I will continue to list my reasons)
2. Matt Maher
3. Jars of Clay
4. The Afters
5. Song with really weird title
6. Random not-so-sticky mustaches
7. MELODICA!!!
8. Weird, random beginning/ending...
9. Ukulele
10. Laughing.
11. CONFETTI!
12. People having a good time

Enjoy, and a happy Friday to you!



Blessings,

Review of Love on Assignment

Love on Assignment by Cara Lynn James is the second book in the historical romance Ladies of Summerhill series. All Charlotte wants is to be a successful reporter and provide for her elderly aunt and disabled sister. When the opportunity arises for her to get some dirt on Professor Daniel Wilmont, a respected Christian educator who writes a newspaper column against terrible working conditions for the profit of the elite, Charlotte readily agrees.

   This opportunity is rare for Charlotte, since her employer is a grumpy man who has never taken notice of Charlotte's talents before. He is very unhappy with the Professor Wilmont's writing and wants Charlotte to find evidence to stop the professors' career and ruin his reputation. To be able to spy on the Wilmont household, Charlotte takes the position of governess to watch the professor's two young children. She soon feels trapped, however, when she discovers that the professor is a truly good, upstanding man who eventually captures her heart. Charlotte must choose whether she should do the right thing and follow her new Christian faith or sacrifice her relationship with her employers, both the newspaper and the professor, and her ability to care for the family.

I found Charlotte's situation very intriguing. Her dilemma of choosing between two actions that could both cause pain made me wonder what I would do if I was in her position. I enjoyed Charlotte's determination to succeed. I also like the contrast the author showed in Daniel and Charlotte's lives. In the position as governess, Charlotte soon finds how different the world of the wealthy is from her family's situation. The story was well-written, and the romance between Daniel and Charlotte is sweet. I have read the first book, Love on a Dime, and I can attest that readers can pick this book up without reading the first book first. However, characters from the first book make some little appearances in Love on Assignment. Themes of faith and forgiveness are strong threads in this book.

I found the book to be a bit tedious at the beginning, though at the end I could not put it down. Also, a girl tries to capture Daniel's attentions. Her intentions are less than honorable, but I applaud the author for not going into details and using the girl's actions to push the plot forward instead of some "juicy" tidbit in the story. I've also heard it has some historical inaccuracies, but if one does not live in a time period, one must not be expected to know everything about the culture. Overall, I believe this is a well-written novel about choices, love, and forgiveness.

I recommend this book to ladies in their teens and up. All in all, I rate this book four out of five stars.

Specifics (from amazon.com): 
Paperback: 336 pages 
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 11, 2011)

Note: Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an electronic copy of this book for reviewing purposes.

Blessings,

Say What You Believe!

Here's what I'm jamming to this beautiful Tuesday afternoon- new music from Echoing Angels!

"Say What You Believe"




Blessings,

Review of A Trail of Ink

A Trail of Ink by Mel Starr is the third book of the Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton. This is such a unique book, as it is a mystery set in medieval times.

Some valuable books have been stolen from Master John Wyclif, the well known scholar and Bible translator. He calls upon his friend and former pupil, Hugh de Singleton, to investigate. Hugh's investigation leads him to Oxford where he again encounters Kate, the only woman who has tempted him to leave bachelor life behind, but Kate has another serious suitor. As Hugh's pursuit of Kate becomes more successful, mysterious accidents begin to occur. Are these accidents tied to the missing books, or to his pursuit of Kate?


One of the stolen books turns up alongside the drowned body of a poor Oxford scholar. Another accident? Hugh certainly doesn't think so, but it will take all of his surgeon's skills to prove that it is no accident.

This book definitely was different for me. It took me while to get into the whole plot and story, but it was so enjoyable. I loved following this medieval surgeon as he uses his medical knowledge, common sense, and a whole lot of investigating. The religious element was also well done. I felt immersed into medieval culture, and I applaud the author for what I am sure must have been lots of hours studying the culture. The romance element added to the appeal to women, so both guys and gals can enjoy this book. The romance is light and does not weight down the plot at all.

My only complaint is that women of ill-repute and place that they work in are mentioned.

All in all, I rate this book four out of five stars. Definitely a different book. Different is good! 

Specifics:
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Monarch Books (February 28, 2011)


About the Author, Mel Starr:

Mel Starr was born and grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After graduating with a MA in history from Western Michigan University in 1970, he taught history in Michigan public schools for thirty-nine years, thirty-five of those in Portage, MI, where he retired in 2003 as chairman of the social studies department of Portage Northern High School. Mel and his wife, Susan, have two daughters and seven grandchildren. www.melstarr.org

Note: Thanks to Litfuse and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book for reviewing purposes.

Blessings,

Pixar Comes to Life!

Okay, is this awesome or what! Remember the house from UP? It's actually possible! Granted, it took lots of planning and was really hard... But it's possible!!!

It's all a part of Nat Geo's new television show coming in the fall called "How Hard Can It Be?"

Wow... 'Nuff said. 

Go here for the full story

Blessings,

Review of Finding Hollywood Nobody

Finding Hollywood Nobody is the second book in the series by Lisa Samson of a very unique girl who lives around the Hollywood scene and whose family is anything but normal. To see my review of the first book, go here. Scotty is just beginning to deal with some hard facts about her life- she's not really who she grew up thinking she was, her parents are gone, and Charley and Scotty are still constantly having to run away from a mysterious Biker Guy who is stalking them.

As always, Scotty makes new friends at their new filming location, which stars a notoriously awful starlet Scotty has had to deal with in the past. Things get a little hard when she has to deal with Seth Haas, a rising star who is like an older brother to her, and his interest in the bratty Karissa Bonano.

Scotty soon befriends a local girl who is in a desperate situation. As her condition worsens, Scotty takes action but soon finds that it is not enough. The only solution left? Pray, and pray hard.

This book continued right where Hollywood Nobody left off. Scotty's voice is still clear and unique as she continues her adventures. I absolutely love how the author is able to have two stories running in one book. Readers get to follow Scotty's adventures in the movie filming world yet also follow her very intriguing family history mystery. The author keeps the book current with dozens of references to celebrities and always with Scotty's blogs. This book goes into the power of prayer as Scotty learned more about God and how prayer can work. I loved that element and think it added much to the story's depth.

I felt as if the first book in this series was better. The plot does thicken in this book, but the content matures a little bit. Okay, just to clarify, this book is still lighthearted and continues with the theme of the first book.  However, Scotty gets a little more passionate on issues, and she says "crap" once or twice. Also, a girl Scotty befriends is a pregnant teen mom who is in an abusive relationship. Additionally, it is briefly mentioned that Seth may be having inappropriate relations with Karissa.

All in all, I rate this book four out of five stars. 

~Specifics:
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: NavPress (February 7, 2008)

Note: Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book for reviewing purposes.

Blessings,

MercyMe LOL

Laugh of the day... Hahaha!!!


Dear youngsters,
A cassette is a magnetic tape recording format....ahh forget it. Go download Bieber.
-Bart Millard, lead singer of MercyMe





Blessings,

Books in AGoMC's Future!

Alrightey, folks. Here are the book titles that will soon be reviewed by yours truly!

A Trail of Ink by Mel Starr

Glamour by Melody Carlson

Finding Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson (I am SOOO excited for this book!)

The Mountains Bow Down by Sibella Giorello. Okay, I know I already posted this book. There was a confusion on my part, and I wasn't supposed to post it yet. So, many of you you did see the future of AGoMC already!

Blessings,

Feel It In Your Heart!

Sorry about the lack of posts this week! This week and the next one are pretty big week school-wise for me (aren't all weeks?!) but hopefully it will all stabilize soon.

Enjoy your weekend, and here's some Abandon to start it off :)



Blessings,