Wise Words Wednesday

Advertisement

Time Traveling to 1973: Celebrating a Special Year by Robert E. Miller

Publisher’s Summary

Let’s travel back in time to celebrate the very special year of 1973!

Were you born in 1973? Was this the year you were married?

With over 220 iconic images – over 25 vintage ads – it’s the perfect birthday or wedding anniversary gift.

Immerse yourself into the Culture, the People, the Leading Events, and the Arts that made 1973 so unique and shaped the World as we know it today.

This perfect balance between serious and popular events will rekindle your emotions of such a remarkable time and place in history!

Beautifully presented with photos on every page, this book goes over:

• Crimes and their Punishments
• The Iconic Movies, the TV Shows and Awards
• Music: Top Songs, Albums and Awards
• Sports Review: American, British and International Events
• Pop Culture, Fashion and Popular Leisure Activities
• Technological Advancements and Popular Cars
• Stats and the Cost of Things
• Iconic Advertisements of 1973
• Politics and Leading Events around the World

A lot of work went into this process to give you the most comprehensive, yet digestible, unforgettable time travel.

Are you ready? Bon voyage!

Robert E. Miller’s Time Traveling to 1973: Celebrating a Special Year opens with the Watergate scandal and ends with iconic advertisements from that year. The book is filled with amazing and unforgettable tidbits that occurred in 1973.

The entries in the book flow seamlessly, transitioning from one chapter to the next in a well-thought-out and extremely germane and interesting fashion.

I was reading along and got caught up in the year, thinking to myself that this would make a wonderful birthday gift for someone born in 1973, who graduated from school (be it high school or college) in 1973 or who got married that year. They would undoubtedly be overcome by poignant, sentimental and nostalgic memories after reading it, I’m sure.

The pictures were an interesting mix of black and white and color, which decidedly enhanced the narrative.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that certain things I had assumed to be more modern inventions had actually been developed in the 1970s and were extremely pricey.

An interesting chronology of a significant year in history, both in the US and abroad, may be found in Time Traveling to 1973: Celebrating a Special Year. The turmoil and upheaval of the year will pique readers’ interest. You can’t miss this book if you want a quick historical read!

I received a free copy of this book from LibraryThing. I voluntarily chose to give it my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Wise Words Wednesday

Christmas at the Amish Market by Shelley Shepard Gray

Publisher’s Summary

Wesley is so busy running his family’s Amish market at the holidays, he barely has time for Liesl, the young woman he’s been courting for years. When she suggests her aunt Jenny could help Wesley out, he agrees to the plan. But Liesl neglected to mention her aunt is only twenty-six years old—and as charming as she is hard-working.

Jenny, still healing after a painful breakup, welcomes the distraction of working at the market. She soon realizes Wesley is everything she ever dreamed a man could be. But how can Jenny even think about romance with the man Liesl expects to marry?

But Liesl’s own feelings are more complicated than she’s willing to admit. With humor, faith, and a little help from their friends in the community, everyone might just find what their hearts are looking for this Christmas at the Amish market.

Like all of Shelley Shepard Gray’s works, Christmas at the Amish Market is genuine, relatable and true to life. She has a talent for tugging you into the narrative and enticing you to delight in the protagonists, as you follow their journey.

The Christmas subject makes the book an excellent, grand one to read since it captures all the fun and excitement of the holiday season without any of the commercialism and “keeping up with the Jones” difficulties.

As the protagonists attempt to navigate and balance expectations and romance, there are both happy and sorrowful moments, as well as sweet and tense ones.

Family, faith and forgiveness are all themes included in the novel, which I really enjoy, appreciate and value. The simple, frugal way of Amish life also appeals to me. But I don’t think I could handle living it!

Gray also includes a recipe for Cincinnati Chili at the end of the book that looks delicious. I plan to make it soon!

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own, and I am voluntarily leaving this review.

Wise Words Wednesday

Waffles and Pancakes: A Lesson in Friendship by Cindy Springsteen

PUBLISHER‘S SUMMARY:

BOOK ONE IN A MOST DELIGHTFUL SERIES

Waffles and Pancakes are two hamsters who were bought from the pet store on the very same day. But their owners—Danny &Griffin, don’t treat them the same way. Pancakes has a lovely new home to play around in with wheels and tunnels. Waffles only has a small box. But when Waffles and Pancakes meet up again, they realize that there are more important things than material possessions.

BIO:

Cindy Springsteen, author of Waffles and Pancakes books and Forever & Always Series lives on Long Island with her husband, two children and two granddaughters. She has had a passion for writing since she was in her teens, starting with poetry, which won her numerous awards and were published in various publications. She also spent many years researching and writing about parenting teenagers for various publications. She presently is a virtual assistant for a well-known author. She is currently working on book five in her Waffles & Pancakes series.

METADATA

Title: Waffles And Pancakes: A Lesson in Friendship

Author: Cindy Springsteen

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform  

Pub date: January 26, 2017

Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Paperback ISBN: 97815423886401

Reading Age:  2 – 8  Years Old

Grade Level: 1 – 2

Outstanding for toddlers and young, beginning readers, Cindy Springsteen’s Waffles & Pancakes is a wonderful book. The lesson taught is a timeless one.

The parents of Griffin and Danny, two lads in the same class at school, purchase Waffles and Pancakes for their boys on the same day. The boys didn’t know they had each received a pet hamster on the same day, though.

The hamsters reconnect as the plot develops. Griffin and Danny’s play date brings the hamsters back together. Pancakes has a lavish hamster home, which astonishes Waffles since he just has a little box. Waffles soon finds out that while Danny plays with him almost constantly after school, Griffin seldom ever plays with Pancakes.

Both adults and children can benefit from the story’s lesson. The message of unconditional love will resonate, too.

My two-year-old granddaughter found the tale to be quite interesting. She felt sorry for Waffles at first, but she soon came to the conclusion that Danny’s affection was far superior to many of Griffin’s offerings.

The story’s appeal is enhanced and made more enjoyable by the vivid and winsome visuals.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and voluntarily chose to give it my honest review.

Coming Soon!!!!!!!!!

Wise Words Wednesday

Rachael’s Decision by Molly Jebber

Publisher’s Summary

In 1915 Ohio, anyone entering the Amish Charm Bakery is greeted by the sweet warmth and delicious fragrance of cinnamon and vanilla wafting from freshly baked cookies and pies. And newcomers to this Amish community will find friendship on the menu, too—and perhaps for a lucky few, even lasting love . . .
 
Rachael Schlabach’s first chance for a husband ended in a tragic accident that left her with a limp. Though happy to work in the beloved Amish Charm Bakery, she hasn’t abandoned her romantic dreams, but she has focused on a widower with two adorable kinner she would love to raise as her own. Then handsome, single Caleb Yutzy arrives on the scene . . .
 
Caleb is eager to court pretty, warm-hearted Rachael, and tells her so. But their frank conversations reveal a truth that dashes her hopes—Caleb very much wants kinner, the one thing Rachael can’t give him. Even when Caleb assures her it’s no matter, she can’t bring herself to be so selfish. Yet love is beyond all planning, and with faith Rachael and Caleb may discover the lifetime of love they were meant to share . . .

Molly Jebber wraps up the “Amish Charm Bakery” series and returns us to Charm, Ohio, in book six, Rachael’s Decision. The narrative functions nicely on its own, but reading the entire series results in a richer experience.

Given that it is set in the early 1900s, this story works well as historical fiction. However, many people in today’s society deal with similar heartbreaking and sad issues. Rachael Schlabach, the protagonist, has a strong, unwavering sense of faith and confidence in God throughout her quest for love. I truly admired that.

In addition, Jebber offers recipes at the conclusion of the book, which made me drool and want to cook them all!

Rachael’s Decision will appeal to readers who like Molly Jebber and Amish fiction, and I heartily suggest it to others as well.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are my own, and I am voluntarily leaving this review.

Twice Sold Tales by Chautona Havig

About the Book

Book: Twice Sold Tales

Author: Chautona Havig

Genre: Christian / Romantic Women’s Fiction

Release date: November 2, 2022

If only owning a bookstore didn’t mean dealing with people.

No one was more surprised than Harper Brevig when Great Aunt Lorene (not “Lori,” thank-you-very-much) died and left her least favorite niece her bookstore–including a prime piece of real estate in downtown Red Wing, Minnesota.

Making a go of the place shouldn’t be too hard. With her library science degree, she should be set. Then again, the website describing library degrees had said it would teach her excellent communication skills. It had not. Could she get a partial refund?

Still, owning the building should mean crazy-low overhead to offset her less than optimal “book-side” manner.  Ahem. So when yet another huge bill arrives, and she starts getting twitchy about the low bank balance, Harper does the only thing she can think of.

Enter Milton Coleridge. He’d been excited about the possibilities of the store last year, but Harper had sent him packing before he could talk to her about them.  Now he has a chance to make a difference. But she’s right. She’s bleeding money, and it doesn’t make sense!

Milton’s job is to figure out what’s going on, plug the financial leak, and maybe… do a little matchmaking. That dad with the adorable little boy would be good for her… and she’d be good for him. Probably.

Twice Sold Tales: the first full-length novel in the Bookstrings series releasing with The Mosaic Collection

Click here to get your copy!

I love this story, and truthfully, what’s not to love? If you love books, this story will have you searching out books you haven’t thought of in a long time or, alternately, looking for ones you have never heard of before. The t-shirts and their pithy, semi-sarcastic and witty quotes will have you laughing while nodding your head in agreement with the sayings. Then, of course, there is the author—Chautona Havig; there’s so much I love about her stories.

The characters’ personalities are remarkably true to life. Harper Brevig is a bookworm who dislikes people yet inherits a bookstore. She sports a lot of sardonic t-shirts, one of which reads, “Fictional characters: because people are overrated.” Not to be forgotten is Milton Coleridge, who is supposed to help Harper with her financial losses but instead decides to play matchmaker. Not to mention Benny, a child who mistrusts everyone and seems a little lost and adrift. There are so many fascinating people; I could go on and on.

I finished the book in a single evening, relishing and thoroughly enjoying every moment.

I received this book from Celebrate Lit. However, my review is voluntary, and all opinions are my own.

About the Author

USA Today Bestselling author Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

More from Chautona

“What kind of research does a contemporary book need? I mean, she’s a bookstore owner in a town you’ve been to several times. What’s there to research?”

I can’t be the only author to get questions like this. And I certainly can’t be the only one who has to fight the urge to laugh. Folks, authors research everything. In Twice Sold Tales, I think I looked up almost as much as I did in my Meddlin’ Madeline Mysteries!

Because here’s the deal. What I didn’t know about Red Wing, Minnesota wouldn’t have hurt the story most of the time. Who cares that Bev’s Café has amazing creamy cucumbers? It doesn’t technically matter. Well, except to my character who hates veggies but will eat those. They make her feel virtuous. And you get to know about it.

But… what you discover about a place or a time or an occupation or whatever can totally change the course of your story. Case in point? I went to a website about River City Days because my niece suggested it might be a good thing for Noah to do with his son. That led me to the Farmer’s Markets and to other things. How I got to the first Ghost Walk in Red Wing taking place this year? I don’t even know. What I do know is that the moment I read about it, I knew Harper had to go. And if she did, and if Milton were the instigator, Noah had to go. #BecauseMatchmaker.

And this is where it got really cool. To make the walk as authentic as I could, I read everything I could find about it. And I discovered something super cool. Like… blow you out of the water cool.

Red Wing, Minnesota sits near the shore of Lake Pepin. Little House on the Prairie lovers will remember this as the lake that Laura Ingalls crossed in the wagon as they left the Big Woods of Wisconsin (you know, right across the river/lake from Red Wing???) Well… Lake Pepin has a monster—the Nessie of the Mississippi. Yes, you read that right… a monster! I went looking and guess what? The “monster” has a name. Pepie! Needless to say, Pepie became a an important part of my story. Because how could he not?

And… I happened to find a stuffed Pepie at Treats & Treasures in Lake City, just south of Red Wing, so I ordered a couple for giveaways—including the one with this blog tour. Happy reading, and what do you think? Shouldn’t someone write Pepie’s story?

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, January 21

Vicky Sluiter, January 21

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 22

Mary Hake, January 22

Texas Book-aholic, January 23

Where Crisis & Christ Collide, January 23

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, January 24

deb’s Book Review, January 24

All-of-a-kind Mom, January 25

Lots of Helpers, January 25

Cover Lover Book Review, January 26

Locks, Hooks and Books, January 26

Splashes of Joy, January 27

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, January 27

She Lives To Read, January 28

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, January 29

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, January 30

For Him and My Family, January 30

Divine Perspective, January 31

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 31

Aryn the Libraryan, February 1

Books I’ve Read, February 1

Blogging With Carol, February 2

Back Porch Reads, February 2

Pause for Tales, February 3

Spoken from the Heart, February 3

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away the grand prize package of a paperback of the book, a stuffed “Pepie” and a few other bookish goodies!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/23bc5/twice-sold-tales-celebration-tour-giveaway

https://www.celebratelit.com