Forever Hilltop Book Review & Kindle giveaway

About the book:  The charming and often hilarious Forever Hilltop series follows the experiences of former city dweller Alex Armstrong as he settles into his new role as pastor of a Scandinavian community in rural North Dakota. Alex is sometimes baffled by his parishioners and their colorful ways, but he comes to appreciate their simple wisdom. One thing's for sure -- life in Hilltop Township is never dull! This new two-in-one format features An Unlikely Blessing along with its sequel, Surprising Grace.

In An Unlikely Blessing, Alex Armstrong is a former city dweller who has just accepted his first parish assignment to a small community in the wilds of North Dakota. In Hilltop Township, Pastor Alex becomes familiar with the residents and their odd traditions, from julebukking to King Oscar's fish balls. And then there's the excitement the single pastor creates among the unmarried women in the community! Alex soon discovers that his new church home has as much to teach him as he has to teach them.

In Surprising Grace, Alex Armstrong is settling into his new role as pastor of Hilltop Church, and he's even starting to understand the strange ways of the people who populate this barren stretch of North Dakota prairie. But he also finds that his flock needs help and counsel like he never imagined. In this cozy and entertaining read, Alex must choose between the woman he once loved -- and the home he's come to love.

About the Author:  Judy Baer was born and grew up on a farm on the prairies of North Dakota, experiencing many of the same things as her Hilltop characters. An only child, she spent most of her days with imaginary people-either those she read about or those she made up in her head. 
 
Baer graduated from Concordia College with majors in English and education and a minor in religion. While at the time, she was simply studying what interested her, Baer later realized that she was educating herself for her future career as a Christian writer. She certainly put her education to use as she is the author of more than 75 books. 
 
A certified professional life coach now certified in three coaching disciplines, Baer coaches primarily professional and aspiring writers. She is also a faculty advisor in the Department of Human Development at St. Mary's University in Minneapolis, MN. Baer has two daughters and three step children. She and her husband live in Minnesota. 
 
She invites you to visit her at her web site www.judykbaer.com for more information on her and her books.  
 
My Review:  I hate giving bad reviews and I want to go on record saying that this series is not a bad series and/or that Judy Baer isn't a good writer, but her writing style in this series is not my preference.  I really struggled with this series because while I enjoy the story line, I felt like the book dragged on.  The first 78 pages of the first book are about Alex's first day arriving to Hilltop.  I felt like the book was overly wordy, again not my preference.  I would give this series 2.5 stars, because I enjoyed the story line, but the over descriptive manner overwriting isn't for me.


To see what other bloggers are saying about Forever Hilltop go here.


@JudyKBaer is giving away a Kindle for YOU … and one for a Friend in her Forever Hilltop Giveaway! Celebrate with Judy by entering to win a Kindle for you and a friend!

One lucky winner will receive:

• Brand New KINDLE with Wi-Fi
• Brand New KINDLE with Wi-Fi to Giveaway to a Friend!
• Forever Hilltop by Judy K Baer for you and a one for a friend

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 22nd. Winner will be announced 5/24/12 on Judy's Blog.

 


Don't miss a moment of the fun. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. 

Disclosure: I received a copy of Forever Hilltop free of charge from Litfuse Publicity Group in order to facilitate a review. All thoughts expressed are 100% my own!

Disney Pixar Brave

Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. In “Brave,” a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts.

Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Witch (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.

Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, and produced by Katherine Sarafian, “Brave” is a grand adventure full of heart, memorable characters and the signature Pixar humor enjoyed by audiences of all ages. The film takes aim at theaters on June 22, 2012, and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters.




Hubs said to me just the other day that the next movie that he wants to see in theaters (we already saw Avengers)  is Brave!  We are both huge Pixar fans and are so exciting about this movie, it will certainly be one that we take advantage of a date night for and hopefully in 3D!  Enjoy a sneak preview of Brave here :)

Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan Book Review and Blog Tour

About Crazy Dangerous: Sam Hopkins is a good kid who has fallen in with the wrong crowd. Hanging around with car thieves and thugs, Sam knows it’s only a matter of time before he makes one bad decision too many and gets into real trouble. But one day, Sam sees these thugs harassing an eccentric schoolmate named Jennifer. Finding the courage to face the bullies down, Sam loses a bad set of friends and acquires a very strange new one. Because Jennifer is not just eccentric. To Sam, she seems downright crazy. She has terrifying hallucinations involving demons, the devil, and death. And here’s the really crazy part: Sam is beginning to suspect that these visions may actually be prophecies-prophecies of something terrible that’s going to happen very soon. Unless he can stop it. With no one to believe him, with no one to help him, Sam is now all alone in a race against time. Finding the truth before disaster strikes is going to be both crazy and very, very dangerous.



About Andrew: Andrew Klavan was hailed by Stephen King as "the most original novelist of crime and suspense since Cornell Woolrich." He is the recipient of two Edgar Awards and the author of such bestsellers as True Crime and Don't Say a Word.

His books and screenplays have been turned into films directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Michael Douglas, Ed Burns, Michael Caine among others.  Books Sold to Date: over 1.5 million.


My review:  What an amazing book!  This is the first time that I have read any of Andrew Klavan's books and I am sure that it will not be the last.  Crazy Dangerous has a crazy way about sucking you into the story from page one.  I have never read a book that was able to capture the perspective of someone with schizophrenia the way that Crazy Dangerous did.  I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and found that both Sam and Jennifer's internal struggles were easy to relate to.  While I am not a huge fan of books that are gruesome as I have an over imaginative mind, so the amount of death in this book was some what bothersome to me and I would not recommend it for young teens (anyone 14 or younger).  Crazy Dangerous is a young adult book, but by no means is a childish book!  I give Crazy Dangerous 5 out of 5 stars!!!

To see what other bloggers are thinking about Crazy Dangerous, you can find the blog tour schedule here.

 Andrew Klavan's Crazy Dangerous $100 Visa Cash Card Giveaway! RSVP for #Facebook Party {5/29}!  Celebrate with Andrew Klavan by entering his Crazy Dangerous giveaway and connecting with him during the Author Chat Party on 5/29!

One fortunate winner will receive:

• A $100 Visa Cash Card
• A copy of Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan for YOU and 5 of your Friends!

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on May 28th. Winner will be announced at the "Crazy Dangerous" Author Chat Facebook Party on 5/29. Andrew will be hosting an Author Chat, testing your survival trivia skills, giving away books and gift certificates to iTunes and Amazon.com! Don't miss a second of the "danger"!

Grab your copy of Crazy Dangerous and connect with Andrew on the evening of 5/29/12 for an author chat and lots of giveaways.

  

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 24th!

Disclosure: I received a copy of Crazy Dangerous free of charge from Litfuse Publicity Group in order to facilitate a review. All thoughts expressed are 100% my own!

"The Avengers"

Marvel Studios presents “Marvel’s The Avengers”—the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston, with Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson, and written and directed by Joss Whedon, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when “Marvel’s The Avengers” assemble in summer 2012.

  

In “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Super Heroes team up to pull the world back from the brink of disaster when an unexpected enemy threatens global security.

The Avengers will arrive in a theater (including 3D and Imax 3D) near you on May 4, 2012!!!  Find The Avengers on Twitter and/or Facebook

Roger Nix President at Age Six

First time children’s book author Nick Dazé, is in the final days of his campaign to raise funding to independently publish his children's book Roger Nix President at Age Six. 

The story is about kindergartener Roger Nix, an ordinary boy: Roger loves kindergarten, playing make-believe, and hanging out with his imaginary friends (a baby donkey named Jack and a baby elephant named Abe). But when he learns about the plans of Old Man Plee, a perennial presidential candidate, to shut down schools and send kids to work in factories as an austerity measure; Roger decides to run against Old Man Plee as a defender of “school and summer vacation, learning and imagination”. Of course Abe and Jack are there to help him every step of the way.

Nick Daze and his incredible Kickstarter campaign have already raised nearly $22,000 and only has $8,000 more to go in order to put the book into production.  The book has been fully written by Daze and the illustrations beautifully crafted by Bill Robinson.  Each $30 pledge towards the Roger Nix campaign comes with a first edition hardcover copy of the book, delivered in time for the new school year this fall.  This is a timely story that is fascinating, engaging, and a thought-provoking read for both kids and parents written by a imaginative adult who was encouraged to explore his imagination as a child.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

Roger stood up quickly. He had something to say

With a wink from Jack and a trunks-up from Abe.

“I’ll run against him,” Roger said with a shout.

“I’ll run for president, have you no doubt!

To close school would be nothing short of a crime

You can't fool all us kids, not all of the time."

He stood on his desk and they all watched and wondered

As Roger kept talking, his voice boomed and thundered.

“We’ll beat him and keep all the schools as they are

Or make them way better. We’ll shoot for the stars!

We go to school so one day we'll go far,

Not because it is easy–because it is hard!

We are KIDS! The whole point is to learn and have fun

And to use our wee noggins...

THIS RACE HAS BEGUN!"

So Abe, Jack, and Roger got to work right away.

"That kid's on to something," his parents would say.

He made lots of speeches; he shook lots of hands

He toured a big factory that made rubber bands.

Then one night on the tube, to Old Plee’s disdain,

The news ran a story on Roger’s campaign.

“Roger Nix, daydreamer and ultimate kid,

Is gaining on Plee in his presidential bid.”

But everyone knew that sooner or later

Roger would have to be quite the debater.

Because one night soon, under some bright marquee

A debate would take place between Roger and Plee.

Please find more information and link to donate below if interested:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/787960356/roger-nix-president-at-six