Review: A Royal Christmas Wedding by Rachel Hauck

A Royal Christmas Wedding is a novella by Rachel Hauck.  It's the story of Avery Truitt, an American from Georgia, and Prince Colin of Brighton Kingdom, a fictional European principality.  Our protagonists used to be an item when Avery was 17, and Colin was 21, but he broke up with her then because of their youth.  Now, five years later, they are reunited when Susanna, Avery's sister, and now Queen of Brighton, invites Avery and their mother to celebrate Christmas with her in Brighton. 

Avery hasn't quite gotten over Colin, but Colin is now linked with Lady Jordan Skye, a favourite of Colin's parents and Brightonian society. Hosts of a television talk show hound him about whether he will restart a Brightonian tradition of ringing the ancient bell at Pembroke Chapel.  In the past, whoever did this would propose to the woman he wished to marry and that they would marry by Christmas Day. 

Apparently Colin hasn't quite gotten over Avery either; he considers her to be the girl who he had given up due to parental pressure.  While hiding overnight in the ruins of Pembroke Chapel, Colin prays about his love life:  he tells the Lord that he will ring the bell for Avery if she'll become his wife...and the bell spontaneously begins to ring without anyone touching it. 
 
However, the path to the altar is not smooth for Colin. There are many obstacles that he has to overcome before he can convince Avery to become his wife.  Will there be a royal Christmas wedding in Brighton?

I really liked this story.  It had royalty, ancient ruins with historical folklore attached to it, grand romantic gestures, and God moments.  Colin may have gotten direction from the Lord, but he still had to act, and the question was whether he would follow through on the guidance that he received and soldier his way through the obstacles that were blocking his way. 

A Royal Christmas Wedding is part of the Royal Wedding Series, which also includes Once Upon a Prince, Princess Ever After, and How to Catch a Prince. 

Review: Strength Training: Staying Fit and Fabulous by Cris Caivano

Strength Training:  Staying Fit and Fabulous, by Cris Caivano is a book that caught my eye, because it is geared for the more mature reader.  This means that the target audience is someone who is entering their 50's.  Now, I'm not quite 50...yet.  And...I'm definitely not a spring chicken anymore.  Years of sedentary living have resulted in the development of batwings for my upper arms.  Workout books with extremely young and fit models who are a half generation younger than me...are intimidating to crack open.  So, yes...I like the idea of a workout book with a healthy looking older person in mind. 

The book starts off with an introduction that has a comfortable, encouraging, and down to earth tone.  In fact, sensibility rings throughout the whole book.  Reading the book took me back to my high school Physical Education classes; the author wasn't saying much that was different than what my P.E. teachers were saying about health, fitness, and strength training.  The exercises that are described in this book were also familiar to me.  Also, I am left with the impression that getting fit is quite an accessible goal without the need to spend oodles of money on expensive exercise equipment.  There are photos and descriptions of exercises, and encouragement to just get going on the road to fitness, especially if one is not already physically active.

I like the book, and would seriously consider buying it to add to my own personal library. 

Disclaimer:  I received an e-copy of Cris Caivano's Strength Training:  Staying Fit and Fabulous from NetGalley, in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Review: Glittering Promises by Lisa Tawn Bergren

"All that glitters is not gold."

Glittering Promises is the last installment in Lisa Tawn Bergren's Grand Tour series.  It is preceded by Glamorous Illusions and Grave Consequences.  Glittering Promises picks up where Grave Consequences left off.  Cora Diehl Kensington and her travelling companions are in the middle of a Grand European tour but must face several challenges that threaten their physical safety and relationships within their group.  The group is hounded by the press, who want to find scandalous information about Cora and her family.  They must also find a way to avoid people who are intent in doing physical harm to Cora. 

In addition to this, Cora must sort out her feelings for Will and Pierre, the two men who are vying for her heart.  She must also determine what her future will be as part of the Kensington Family.  When Wallace Kensington, her biological father, hands over controlling interest of the mines that exist on the land of her adoptive family, the Diehls, the consequences have far reaching effects that bring dramatic changes, division, and for some members of their group, even ruin. 

When I first went through this book about three years ago, the narrative's ending made me quite upset.  There is a happy ending for some characters, but not for all of them.  I was also sort of blindsided by the identities of those who wanted to do harm to Cora.  So, I left the book for a while.  I didn't know that I would leave it for three years!  Upon my more recent reading, I could see that the foreshadowing in the novel should have prepared me a bit for what was to come the first time that I read it.   Perhaps I was looking for a light and romantic story, so to realize that it would not end well for all the characters was a bit disappointing. 

Nevertheless, I thought that the novel was quite good.  I especially liked it when Cora realized, that despite the tumultuous things that were going on all around her, the forces that operating against her, and the confusing changes in her social status, she remembered who she was:  she was a daughter of God.  The light that was in her life either made her attractive to others, or be viewed as a person to be scorned.  For some, she inspired them to become a stronger and better person, while for others, she was an object to be manipulated in their attempts to get their own way.

As in Grave Consequences (I have not read Glamorous Illusions yet), Cora's point of view was in first person, but all other characters' points of view were written in third person.  It took a while to get used to again, but I didn't find the changes between first and third person points of view as jarring as I did when I read Grave Consequences.  I would not consider Glittering Promises a stand alone book; it resolves the mystery of who is pursuing Cora and her companions, a mystery which began in the earlier volumes of the Grand Tour trilogy. 



Disclaimer:  I received an e-copy of, "Glittering Promises," by Lisa Tawn Bergren from NetGalley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in the this review are mine.

Review: Inspired Shawls: 15 Creative Patterns for Year-Round Knitting by Laura Zukaite

Laura Zukaite's book, Inspired Shawls:  15 Creative Patterns For Year-Round Knitting, is a new work being released by Dover Publications.  It contains shawls with names reflecting South American locales and culture, such as Cartegena, Nazca, Cuzco, Ipanema, Copacabana, Geo Aztec, and Inca.  There are definitely creative designs in this book that feature elements that make many of the shawls quite unique.  The photographs are attractive and the instructions appear to be nicely laid out.  There is a list of general abbreviations located at the back of the book, along with a US/UK needle conversion chart.  If there are more unusual/special abbreviations specific for a pattern (e.g. Tw3B, which means, "twist 3 stitches to the back"), they appear near the beginning of the pattern after the materials and gauge are mentioned.   Besides written instructions, several patterns have charts, especially for designs that feature lace or colourwork.

The shawls vary in size; some are large shawls and some are shawlettes.  The shapes also vary; I found one crescent, three rectangular, four semi-circular, six triangular shawls and a ruana.  The crescent shaped shawl, the Copacabana design, features several tiers of ruffles.  Other designs, such as the Cartegena, feature lace.  Colourwork is featured in the Cuzco, Geo Aztec, Inca, and Mayan (the ruana) designs.  The Mayan shawl seems to showcase a variety of techniques and stitches; it contains star stitches, bobbles, slip stitches, garter stitch and Fair-isle.  The La Paz and Puno shawls (the latter is featured on the book's cover) have embroidery, and tassels can be found on the Amazonas, Ipanema, and Geo Aztec shawls.  The Ipanema design also has cables and a drawcord, in addition to the tassels.  The Salento shawl is mainly in garter stitch.  There is quite a variety of techniques and embellishments utilized in many of the designs.  I peeked on Ravelry earlier today to see if any of the patterns from this book has been uploaded into the database there, but I haven't seen any yet.

The patterns and samples in the book use luxury yarn labels such as Artyarns (Ensemble, Silk Mohair, Silk Rhapsody), Madelinetosh (Merino, Chunky, Prairie), Plucky Knitter (Spiffy, Crew), Malabrigo (Silky Merino), Sweet Georgia (Superwash Sport), Miss Babs (Big Silk), Shalimar Yarns (Aerie, Breathless), Ancient Arts Yarns, and Hedgehog Fibers.  These represent varying yarn weights ranging from lace to aran weight; however, most of the patterns seem to use sport/DK weight.  Also, most of the patterns call for several skeins of yarn.  However, if you do your research, you could probably substitute many of the yarns with more economical ones to recreate these shawls. 

Out of the 15 designs, I would probably knit about ten of them, which would make this book a big candidate for joining my knitting library.  In my opinion, I think that the difficulty level of most of the patterns in this book would be suitable for intermediate and experienced knitters, although there appear to be a few patterns that advanced beginners can take on. 

Also, I would probably opt to buy a hard copy of this book rather than an e-book (unless it was a Kindle version).  I had problems viewing the photographs of the book using the latest version of Adobe Digital Editions, and had to download an older version of ADE (4.0) in order to see them. 


Disclaimer:  I received an e-copy of Laura Zukaite's, "Inspired Shawls:  15 Creative Patterns For Year-Round Knitting," from NetGalley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in the review are mine.

Review: Tudor Roses by Alice Starmore, 2017 Edition

I first heard about Alice Starmore in a book whose title I can't remember.  There was a whole chapter devoted to Ms. Starmore, especially about her book titled, Tudor Roses.  Apparently, Ms. Starmore's book contained gorgeous sweater designs, and was out of print.  The thing that caught my attention was that because it was so rare, the price for a copy of this book was over $200.  I wanted to see this book for myself, because it had grown into a legend in my mind.  I believe that my local library had a copy of it; but, alas!  It had gone missing from the shelves, or maybe that was someone else's story from what I had read from reviews of Amazon customers who were also trying to find copies of this book.  In any case, I thought that I would never see the book for myself, because I didn't have the budget to spend $200 on a knitting book.   

So, when I found out that Tudor Roses was going to be republished in 2017, I was very excited.  Even better yet, I was able to find an advanced copy through NetGalley.  I looked at the galley when I first received it, but because I am not an experienced knitter, I got a bit overwhelmed when I looked at the text.  What I can tell you is that the republished version of Tudor Roses is not exactly the same book that had been published in 1998.  The knitwear designs that appear in the 2017 version of this title have been altered and updated from those that appeared in the 1998 version.  I was able to confirm this by comparing the photos in the newer version of the book to photographs of sweaters made from patterns in the older book that other knitters had uploaded onto Ravelry, a social network for knitters and crocheters.  The back of the book also spells it out quite clearly; this new version is a "Reimagined Edition of the Groundbreaking Classic."

I have read other people's opinions of the changes, and some people like them, while others do not. There was a design that had appeared in the older book that did not appear in the newer one.  Some people had been upset by this omission, and perhaps would have preferred to have had an updated design even if they had disliked the idea of updated designs.  For the most part, I like the newer designs because I think that they are more wearable for today; however, there were a few designs in the older book that I prefer over the ones in the newer version. 

In general, the designs are inspired by various historical figures of the Tudor Dynasty, such as Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort, Elizabeth of York, and Margaret Tudor.  At the introduction of each design, there is a brief first person narrative about each woman that the design is based upon.  There are lovely photographs of the garment modeled by different women for each historical figure that is portrayed.  There's a coffee table book quality to the photos; each model is staged and dressed in a way that gives a historical feel to the presentation. 

As I mentioned before, I got a bit overwhelmed when I first looked at the instructions in the text, but I would now attribute that to my own lack of experience in reading a pattern.  Although I have not actually knit any of these patterns (I cannot, because the galley does not include the charts for the designs), I think that I could probably tackle these designs as an intermediate knitter.  The designs include fair isle and cable work.  I especially like the knitwear designs for the Margaret Beaufort, Anne Boleyn, and Katherine Howard models. 

At first, after viewing the book, I was not sure if I was going to add this book to my library, but after letting the designs sit with me for a while, I think that I will add this title to my collection.  The designs have definitely grown on me.  I'm pretty sure that the designs will challenge my knitting skills, but I would like to try them because they are really lovely.

Disclaimer:  I received an e-copy of "Tudor Roses," by Alice Starmore from NetGalley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Review: Faith Journaling for the Inspired Artist by Stephanie Ackerman

This past Christmas, I received an empty journal from a friend and several rolls of washi tape.  She has been into creative faith journaling for a few years, and has been quite enthusiastic about using her artistic talents to express her faith as she reads, studies, and reflects on what she has learned from the Bible.  She didn't know that I had Stephanie Ackerman's Faith Journaling For the Inspired Artist in my reading queue, so receiving these gifts has been rather timely.

I found Faith Journaling For the Inspired Artist to be a book about artistic technique where the author uses and demonstrates her art as examples of what readers could do in their own journaling.  The book is not a devotional book, nor is it a book that speaks comprehensively about the practice of having devotional time with the Lord.   Instead, it mainly presents an artistic approach that could be used when having devotions or quiet time.

The author starts off with a couple of chapters discussing the purpose of faith journaling.  She emphasizes that people who practice this must focus on meeting with God, reflecting on the Word, and not get side tracked by the art itself.  Ms. Ackerman also tries to encourage readers to strike out on their own.  She states that there is no right or wrong way in practicing faith journaling. 

The majority of the book focuses on techniques to use from lettering, drawing, painting, mixed media, and scrap booking.  The author models the techniques, providing examples and templates in the book.  There are practice squares and spaces for readers to try out various artistic techniques.  There are sample verses, where some are examples for readers to view, and for readers to try out on their on own in utilizing the methods outlined in the book.

The author refers to her website for readers to view some of her work, and also as a possible resource to help them in their artistic endeavours in faith journaling.

I found the book to be interesting to look at, but it might not necessarily speak to all people who keep faith journals.   However, this might be a good book for people who would like to try this type of faith journaling, but who don't have a strong artistic background.  Faith Journaling For the Inspired Artist might give them a good introduction to various techniques that they could try and also provide them inspiration from Ms. Ackerman's examples. 


Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of "Faith Journaling for the Inspired Artist," by Stephanie Ackerman from NetGalley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Review: Wish with the Candles by Betty Neels

This is not going to turn into a Betty Neels' book blog, but I'm still on my Betty Neels' reading streak. 

After reading so many BN novels with heroes who don't tell the heroines anything and whose actions are sufficiently vague, it has been a bit of a relief to read a string of her novels in which the heroes are a bit more clear about their intentions.  Justin, our rich, handsome, Dutch, redheaded (not blond) doctor goes right after our plain, English, clueless nurse, Emma. 

Did I mention that Emma is clueless?  Yes.  I had wondered if I would ever use the expression, "too stupid to live," in a review (and I seriously don't mean to be exceptionally rude or disrespectful); however, Emma...kind of earned it.   Everyone, ...and I mean, everyone else in the novel knew that Justin loved Emma, but Emma herself. From the beginning of their relationship, when they meet in a literal fender bender (Emma's bumper gets caught against his in a car accident), one can tell that Justin is interested in her when he takes a good long look at her passport while they are "exchanging" contact information.  The woman was supposed to have been a medical student, except that life got in the way.  Obviously, her relationship intelligence quotient didn't measure up to her professional abilities.  Still, Wish with the Candles was better than other BN novels in which the heroes let the heroines flounder in the face of mixed romantic signals.