A long awaited for new book from Michael Phillips

"The death of the clan patriarch has thrown the tiny Shetland Islands community of Whale's Reef into turmoil. Everyone assumed MacGregor Tulloch's heir to be his grand-nephew David, a local favorite, but when it is discovered that MacGregor left no will, David's grasping cousin Hardy submits his own claim to the inheritance, an estate that controls most of the island's land. And while Hardy doesn't enjoy much popular support, he has the backing of a shadowy group of North Sea oil investors. The courts have frozen the estate's assets while the competing claims are investigated, leaving many of the residents in financial limbo. The future of the island--and its traditional way of life--hangs in the balance.

Loni Ford is enjoying her rising career in a large investment firm in Washington, DC. Yet in spite of her outward success, she is privately plagued by questions of identity. Orphaned as a young child, she was raised by her paternal grandparents, and while she loves them dearly, she feels completely detached from her roots. That is until a mysterious letter arrives from a Scottish solicitor. . . .

Past and present collide in master storyteller Phillips's dramatic new saga of loss and discovery, of grasping and grace, and of the dreams of men and women everywhere."

I wouldn't even begin to try to better the summary on the back of the book so didn't attempt. Michael Phillips is a family favorite, from me to my mother and my aunt.  Filled with romance, suspense, and well thought out and researched history and plot, you can't find better if you are searching for a meaty get-lost-in-the-story kind of read.  Phillips never disappoints and this new title starting the Secrets of the Shetlands series is no exception.  The biggest downfall is having to wait somewhat patiently for Book 2 in the series which, to the best I can find, will be released in the fall of 2016.  In other words, get ready for an ending that isn't tied up with a pretty bow but still has lots to reveal.

I love the setting Phillips chose for this series.  I have never had opportunity to visit Whales or  Scotland and the beautiful countryside portrayed in these pages wants me to visit even more. I wonder if Phillip's slower, easier pace in his writing foreshadows the lifestyle one might find there. While it may take you a bit of time to grasp onto all the characters, I have no doubt you will love them as much as I as Phillips has a knack of developing them in a way that almost makes them part of your life.  Slower start than others of Phillips' but it will grab you and you won't want to put it down.

Good thing I can pass this on to my mother....she might have just already bought it herself!  I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and am in no way obligated to write a positive one.     

 

A must have for gardeners

I must admit that I am a bit undereducated about how all the plant world works but am not new to gardening at all.   Flowers are definitely my forte' as I have failed miserably most times I attempt much in the way of vegetables.  While my soil is mostly to blame, there are various things I can do to increase the likelihood of being able to pick a fresh squash or tomato from my own garden.  One of those contributions I can make to not only help myself but to help other around me is to encourage bees to visit by planting trees, shrubs, vegetables, annuals,  and perennials that attract bees and hummingbirds to our area.

The Bee-friendly Garden by Kate Frey and Gretchen LeBuhn is filled with suggestions on what to (and not to) plant whether you have a tiny little space or a large yard, how to care for those plants to achieve your goal of continuing to attract helpful insects, the dangers of pesticides and herbicides to our bee friends, and suggestions on how to design your own bee friendly garden.  If after reading, you want to extend beyond your own backyard, there is a chapter devoted to how to become an activist.

I found this volume well within my ability to understand all the elements.  The authors make the importance of pollinators clear and I loved the lists of suggested plants to purchase in order to increase my own bee population.  I know that may sound a bit odd to anyone who is allergic to bees or who are fearful of being stung.  But, if you love to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, you better be ready to take care of and encourage pollinators that are already gravitating toward an endangered level with the way our world gardens today. Whether a new or experienced gardener, this book is for everyone.  An added bonus is the beautiful garden photography.  Loved it!

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I was in no way obligated to write a positive one.  This one goes on my gift list for my gardener friends.  First up....my aunt whose husband is a beekeeper.  She is going to love it!

Home cooked but probably not at my home

This new volume of cooking ideas from Anya Fernald contains pasta, vegetables, snacks, fish and meat and desserts. Fernald first introduces the reader to her kitchen and then some of what she calls the "building blocks" of cooking such as broths, lard, sauces and more.  Some great tips and ideas but it just didn't have a lot of the type of cooking I do.  Granted, I grew up with Southern home-cooked meals so perhaps I need to learn a healthier cooking style but doubt that will include such dishes as lamb hearts, pickled grapes, pinquito beans or rabbit and duck.  Many of the recipes had ingredients I am totally unfamiliar with and unlikely to purchase to experiment with a new recipe.

All that to say, the book is nicely illustrated with colorful photos of many of the recipes or raw ingredients.  I do have an appreciation for the fact that the author makes use of the abundance of fruits and vegetables, canning and preserving them to use in her recipes.  That coupled by her suggestions for using leftover bones for broths and using meats that are often passed over for their more tender counterparts gives any cook some money saving tips.  As for me, I am most likely to try her buttermilk biscuit or butter piecrust recipe along with desserts such as buttermilk pie or gingerbread, all of which have ingredients I can both pronounce and find readily in my pantry or local grocery store.

Nicely hard bound so will stand the wear and tear in the kitchen. The binding allows the volume to open out nicely on the kitchen counter, unlike many others I have reviewed.  I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and am in no way obligated to write a positive one. 

Precious gift for mom, daughter or dad

Karen Kingsbury has been a favorite author of mine for years.  She has branched out into the gift book area with these latest releases of Forever My Little Girl: Loving Your Daughter for No and for Always and Forever My Little Boy just in time for Mother's Day and Father's Day.  The sweet story begins with a daughter's birth and takes the little girl into her first steps, elementary years and into teen, first dance, first crush, first love, and ends as her parents are getting old.  Scattered throughout each of life's phases are Bible verses and short little poems, reminders that no matter how grown up she will be, she will always be her parent's little girl, cherished, loved, and prayed for.  Each section also contains a brief suggested prayer to pray for your daughter.  Each phase of life is illustrated with watercolor illustrations, much like the one on the cover, by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff.

I can't decide who needs this book more--me, my mother, or my daughter.  Whoever's hands it ends up in, I think it will be cherished. The nice hardback binding make it a book that will last through the years.  I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and was in no way obligated to write a positive one.

West Point historical fiction

Lucinda Pennyworth is alone.  Her mother died years ago and her father has died unexpectedly.  The only family she has to turn to is her mothers, people she has never met.  While she hopes they will take her in, she find her parents didn't leave home under the best of circumstances nor was her father quite the man she thought and relatives aren't as willing to welcome her in initially as she once hoped. Lucinda wants nothing more than to turn over a new leaf and find a cadet to marry but circumstances present themselves that make that more difficult than it should be in a new place.

Seth Westcott is a cadet at West Point and one of the first people Lucinda meets when trying to she arrived to attempt to build a life there.  Seth's mother has just passed away as well and his need to go out west to take care of his sister and their land weighs heavily on his mind but the army won't allow him to go as a man in the top of his class but his determination leads him on a path I would call deceitful with his unlikely schemes.

If I have read anything else by Siri Mitchell, I don't remember it.  Flirtation Walk  was an easy read with characters who were well developed and interesting.  I love historical fiction so that is what initially drew me to this pre-Civil War romance. Written in first person, Flirtation Walk  alternated between Lucinda's point of view and Seth's.   While it won't be listed in my list of top favorite historical fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style and reading about the time period and places steeped in history.  I found it interesting that while others may not have gone to the extreme measures Seth did to get what they wanted, there were men such as J.E.B. Stuart who altered their behavior to get an assignment that was more desirable to them.

Bottom line--enjoyable, covers a time period and place not often addressed, and I am glad I received the book from the publisher for an honest review.  I am in no way obligated to write a positive one.

Dealing with clutter

I don't know about you but there are times where I just look in portions of my house and wonder how in the world I ever thought I needed so much "stuff".  Is it the pleasure of shopping and buying? Is it not remembering what I even have and think I need another ______?  Am I trying in vain to fill a hole God put in every human being that only He can fill?  It probably is all those things.  But you know what, all that "stuff" may bring a brief moment of what might be termed as happiness but is it really?  It truly only results in the need to reorganize, needing a bigger house or storage, or the desire for even more "stuff".  The organizer industry must rake in millions a year but does organization really solve the problem?  No!

Joshua Becker addresses my pitfalls and gives ever reader practical tips and stories on how to overcome our bad habit of accumulation, even encouraging us to live a more minimalized life without all the piles upon piles of books, paper, keepsakes, and other possessions in order to enjoy life more fully by choosing adventures and experiences and chasing your dreams.  You won't find any magic recipe that immediately wipe away years of acquiring but perhaps you will find a way to begin to change your thinking to a more minimalistic mindset and away from the me-centeredness of ownership.  Easy to read and practical.  I must admit that this may be a book I need to mark up and revisit again and again since 50 year habits are hard to break.  It would seem that the younger generation does this much better than I.

For me--a must read.  If you find yourself dealing with some of the same, pick up this practical guide.  I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I was in no way obligated to write a positive one.  Off now to make a step by step plan for minimalizing my own stuff filled life. 

Outdoor wedding ideas

Today's society just doesn't do things like when I was married.  Everyone I knew was pretty much married in the church they grew up in but I can't remember when I was invited to a wedding in the bride's home church and, more often than not, the ceremony hasn't take place in a church at all.  The "venue" seems to be one of the most important decisions the bride makes for her special day.  What was once a given decision has become one more thing to check off the list.

Whether you are interested in a garden wedding, seaside, your favorite city, or even a church, The Knot Outdoor Weddings will give you a plethora of ideas and advice ranging from seating to cakes to flowers to color recommendations and more. Each of the weddings featured falls under one of six venues:  estate, waterside, garden, ranch, cityscape, or vineyard.  Also included in the back of the volume is a 12 month checklist that will help you have everything ready for your wedding day. 

While not quite at the point that my family is planning a wedding, that isn't too far in the future so I can see plenty of ideas my daughter will glean from The Knot.  It is heavy on the photos, which are beautifully done, but may or may not be what a bride is looking for.  In today's electronic world, you may be able to find as many ideas on-line.  I know we will use it but this might be a better choice for a library or wedding planner than every bride at the $40 price tag.

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I was in no way obligated to write a positive one.