Friday, June 5, 2015

Book Review: "Silver Spurs" by Miralee Ferrell


"Silver Spurs" by Miralee Ferrell is the 2nd in the Horses and Friends series. While it would be possible to start with Silver Spurs, I would recommend starting at the beginning of the series with "A Horse for Kate" so you can get to know the characters better.

Kate Ferris has gotten her greatest wish, to have her own horse. But she wants to be able to take in boarders to raise more money to be able to get a lesson horse for her best friend Tori to learn on. When Melissa Tolbert brings her horse to board at their barn, Tori and Kate are upset because Melissa is mean to them at school. How will they be able to enjoy hanging out at the barn if Melissa is there, too?

I read "Silver Spurs" with my daughter (her review is below). She is in the "target age" of the book, but I still enjoyed reading the book. I liked how Kate is a realistic kid with fears and frustrations that she has to deal with. Miralee does a good job of incorporating life lessons into the story in a way that is not heavy or overpowering.

This is a great book for girls, horse lovers, and mothers of girls/horse lovers ☺

My 9 year old daughter's review (Spoilers)

Silver Spurs is a very detailed book. For example, the book is called and talks about silver spurs, I mean, they could have just said spurs. My favorite part of the book is when Melissa won the silver spurs. I think that it was very generous of Kate to offer Capri to Melissa. If I were Kate, I would have begged Mrs. Jamison to let me take lessons on jumping so that I could compete for the silver spurs. I would be thrilled if I won the silver spurs!

      -Emily Dempsey, Becky Dempsey's daughter


"Silver Spurs" is available for Kindle:
  • File Size: 2534 KB
  • Print Length: 240 pages
  • Publisher: David C. Cook (June 1, 2015)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00U0RA92M

and in paperback:
  • Age Range: 8 - 12 years
  • Series: Horses and Friends
  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: David C. Cook (June 1, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0781411130
  • ISBN-13: 978-0781411134
  • Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches

I received a digital ARC through Netgalley in order for me to give my honest review. I did not receive any other form of compensation and all opinions are my own (except for those of my daughter ☺)

Monday, June 1, 2015

Month in Review: May

In May,  I accomplished the following towards my goals:

  • Knit 1 hat
  • I only wrote about 2419 words this month
  • Tatted 2 crosses, plus 1 new flower and vine design bookmark
  • Exercised about 20 days
  • Read Revelation
  • Sculpted the legs of 2 clay babies and put them together

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Saturday, May 30, 2015

Book Review: "Hidden Identity" by Carol J. Post


Meagan Berry has spent the last few months lying to stay hidden. She might end up dead otherwise. Officer Hunter Kingston has a lot of practice dealing with people lying. His job depends on him being able to figure out when someone isn't being truthful.  When Meagan's house is broken into, Hunter knows he needs to get to the bottom of what's really going on.  Will they be able to trust each other in order to live to see another day?

"Hidden Identity" by Carol J. Post is the 2nd in the Cedar Keys Series. I have not read the first one (or the novella that also is set in Cedar Key) but didn't feel left out of the story or as if I was coming in the middle of the story as it is a stand alone story with mentions of the characters from the others books.

I really liked Meagan and Hunter. They are realistic and believable. The mystery kept me guessing as to what was going on which is nice. There were many twists and turns to get to the end of the plot. I haven't read that many mystery/suspense stories, but I think I will have to be getting some more.

I would recommend this book enthusiastically. 

Hidden Identity is available starting July 1, 2015 in Kindle edition:
  • File Size: 661 KB
  • Print Length: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense (July 1, 2015)
  • Sold by: Harlequin Digital Sales Corp.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00SFRFLMW

and in paperback:
  • Series: Love Inspired Suspense
  • Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Love Inspired (July 7, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0373446829
  • ISBN-13: 978-0373446827
  • Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.6 x 6.6 inches

I was gifted a paperback copy of this book by the author in exchange for my honest review. A positive review was not required and all opinions are my own.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Book Review: "Princess Joy Sticker & Activity Book"



"Princess Joy Sticker & Activity Book" follows Princess Joy and her pet Rosebud the Puppy as they get ready for her birthday party. There are 16 pages of activities including: maze, coloring, word search, spot the differences, color by number, and others as well as 2 sheets of reusable stickers. The stickers stick to any of the pages and are easily removable and then restick to another place. 

While this book is published by Zonderkidz, there was no spiritual content in this activity book. There is a series of books about these sister Princesses called The Princess Parables, but I have not seen or read any of them.

This activity book has nice pictures and a variety of activities to appeal to children in the 4-8 year range. I would recommend it. 

"Princess Joy Sticker & Activity Book" is available in paperback
  • Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  • Series: The Princess Parables
  • Paperback: 16 pages
  • Publisher: Zonderkidz; Act Stk edition (April 14, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0310746183
  • ISBN-13: 978-0310746188
  • Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.1 x 10.5 inches

I received a free copy of this book from Zonderkidz' zblogsquad in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: "Princess Grace Sticker & Activity Book"



"Princess Grace Sticker & Activity Book" follows Princess Grace and her search for the missing kitten Poppy. There are 16 pages of activities including: maze, coloring, word search, spot the differences, color by number, and others as well as 2 sheets of reusable stickers. The stickers stick to any of the pages and are easily removable and then restick to another place. 

While this book is published by Zonderkidz, there was no spiritual content in this activity book. There is a series of books about these sister Princesses called The Princess Parables, but I have not seen or read any of them.

This activity book has nice pictures and a variety of activities to appeal to children in the 4-8 year range. I would recommend it. 

"Princess Grace Sticker & Activity Book" is available in paperback
  • Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  • Series: The Princess Parables
  • Paperback: 16 pages
  • Publisher: Zonderkidz; Act Csm No edition (April 14, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0310747414
  • ISBN-13: 978-0310747413
  • Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 10.5 inches

I received a free copy of this book from Zonderkidz' zblogsquad in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: "Princess Charity Sticker & Activity Book"



"Princess Charity Sticker & Activity Book" follows Princess Charity and her pet Daisy Horse and their adventures around the kingdom. There are 16 pages of activities including: maze, coloring, word search, spot the differences, color by number, and others as well as 2 sheets of reusable stickers. The stickers stick to any of the pages and are easily removable and then restick to another place. 

While this book is published by Zonderkidz, there was no spiritual content in this activity book. There is a series of books about these sister Princesses called The Princess Parables, but I have not seen or read any of them.

This activity book has nice pictures and a variety of activities to appeal to children in the 4-8 year range. I would recommend it. 

"Princess Charity Sticker & Activity Book" is available in paperback
  • Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  • Series: The Princess Parables
  • Paperback: 16 pages
  • Publisher: Zonderkidz; Act Csm No edition (April 14, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0310746442
  • ISBN-13: 978-0310746447
  • Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 10.5 inches

I received a free copy of this book from Zonderkidz' zblogsquad in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.