This is one of those three in one type of books - three shorter stories contained in one larger book.I like Cindy Woodsmall's writing style, having read Plain Wisdom before.

The first story, the Sound of Sleigh Bells, was my least favorite. I didn't really like any of the characters and really hated the fact that the two main female characters, Beth & Lizzie, had very similar but obviously different names (which went along with the storyline, but I was constantly forgetting which one was the older aunt and which one was the younger one). Beth's big "secret" was very obvious to me from the very first page, and it drove me crazy that she was making such a big deal out of something so small (and add to that the fact that she was encouraged to lie about it, and that she agreed to keep quiet about the true details).

The other two stories were much more enjoyable and believable for me. I don't really like reading holiday specific books, but this one was pretty nice.

I previously reviewed Vinton's other canning book, Put 'em Up food preservation, which I loved, and this one was no exception.

This book is exactly what it says it is - it's a question and answer book on common food preservation topics, from freezing, drying/dehydrating, to canning. There's a few recipes and introductory text, but it's mostly a q & a/ quick reference book.

It's definitely aimed at beginner canners - which I definitely am (having canned exactly 2 different recipes last year, albeit multiple batches of both) and beginner preservation techniques (which I am not, having been heavily relying on freezing / dehydrating for years). There were some interesting dehydration tips that were new, though I didn't really learn anything from the freezer sections.

That being said, this is definitely a book I'll buy and add to my canning cookbook library

Anyone who reads my reviews regularly knows that I love to read (and review) gardening books - most especially vegetable gardening. Growing up, we had a few tomato plants, grew potatoes a time or two, and rarely another vegetable plant, though our yard was always surrounded by trees and flowers. Two years ago my parents, hubby & I planted a small vegetable garden, and at the end of our second season, we doubled the size of our plot. I've never been much for cooking, but having my own garden has made me so much more aware of the food we eat and where it comes from, and I've slowly become a better cook as a result.

This book is put together by 73 different contributors, so there's great variety of plans, from small herb gardens to huge spreads with every vegetable imaginable. The books is exactly what the title says, a book of garden plans, so there aren't a lot of pretty photos of growing gardens, but illustrations of where to plant what vegetable to maximum your space. There is an introduction to each plan that explains what's going on in the plan, the how-to's and the why's, so you can learn from the plans & make it your own.

First, this is definitely NOT my usual read. I apparantly didn't read the description very well because I didn't realize it was actually erotica/romance, I thought it was just going to be a light, quick, summer beach read type of a book.

That being said, it was a fun read! I can't say it's laugh out loud funny, but there were certainly funny parts & Nash does a fabulous job writing this well paced book. Jordan whines a lot about how unhappy and depressed she is, but it's not negative in any way, and the chapters fly by while reading.

First of all, I am a HUGE Scooby Doo fan! When I first saw this book, I was so excited because it's also a choose your own adventure book! I LOVED those books as a kid and was thrilled to see another one come out!

This book is for ages 7-12. The pages are beautifully drawn and look like the characters in all the shows (yes, I still watch Scooby Doo as an adult). The story line is simple but very age appropriate - the gang goes to a beach, you get to pick who to hang out with (all the major characters are here) and depending on who you pick, will determine what will happen next!

I wish that there were a few more choices, but as I aaid, this is for younger kids & I think they will absolutely love it and I know I'm buying this for my niece when this comes out (she'll be 7).


I received a review copy for free from netgalley and was not paid for this review.

This is a children's book, similar to Little House on the Prairie, about a girl named Anna, who has to indure hardship kids today have no clue about. The story is very cute and is based upon a true story, and I think most kids would enjoy it. The illustrations are also very nice and go well with the story.

I had just a couple of little issues - both cars and telephones are mentioned here. I really struggle to believe that a family as poor as Anna's, who had to burn cow dung in order to keep their home warm, would be rich enough to own a phone and a car, a true luxury by any standards at that period in time. The phone quite easily could have been cut out of the story all together, and have a horse replace the car, and the story would have flowed so much better, but the vast majority of kids won't pick up on those facts, I'm sure.

My other interesting tidbit was the colony Anna's family ended up living with - I would have really enjoyed hearing more about it - I felt that whole section was a tease, but that's probably just my viewpoint as an adult.

I picked this up for free, and didn't realize it was put together from Instructables. Anybody who does DIY projects is aware of this site, one I don't really frequent because the vast majority of the projects posted there are poor quality, with even poorer instructions and photography.

This "book" is simply a compliation of projects from the site, which includes frequent advertising for the website. The directions are complete with typos, nothing is edited and the projects shown are those only suitable for children.

Lucky Phoo is the story of one very lucky dog and the three girls who's lives changes because of him.

The three seventh grade girls are hanging out in the park, about to make a video, when they stumble upon a filthy, smelly dog that they new Phoo... or, more accurately, when the dog discovers them. He manages to worm his way into their hearts and lives, and all of a sudden they realize how much luckier and better off they are when he is around, and he becomes not only the star of their video, but the star of their lives as well.

I admit, I don't really read a lot of children's books, but as a big animal lover I couldn't resist when I was asked to read this book, and I'm really glad I did. It's written for pre-teens and I think any animal loving kid (girls especially) will love it.

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received an e-book from the author in exchange for my honest review & was not paid for my thoughts.

I picked up this book to read from net-galley because though I know, in the vaguest possible terms, that things like trafficking and the sex trade do exist, it's so distant from my life that I don't really *know* what goes on.

Sophie starts off her book by telling us about her childhood with an abusive father and a mother she worships. She has a few adult relationships and meets a man, Kas, who she views with innocence. I found it hard to believe that she honestly never saw any signs of his insaneness prior to his kidnapping her, but certainly know that this does happen every day.

While Sophie's story is heartbreaking, and I can't even imagine her pain or how difficult it must have been for her to write of her story, it wasn't as emotional as I expected - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. She brings a story often ignored into media's attention (and that's one of the reasons why I read and am reviewing this book, to help educate people).

While a difficult story matter, this book was a very quick read.

I was first introduced to Emerson by reading the first book in her series, the Pleasure Palace, but haven't read the rest of the books in the series. It does very well as a stand-alone book (coming from me, that's high praise).

The story is told in two parts, the past and the present - the premise is Audrey, who is sick, is telling her 8 year old daughter, Hester, her life story - a dangerous life story which could get them all killed. There's some holes left open in the plot (perhaps on purpose as this is a series), but basically you are led to believe that Audrey is the king's daughter because he pays a lot of attention to her, attention not given the rest of her family.

I don't particularly like books or shows where you bounce back and forth from past to present, but I didn't mind it in this book - Emerson does this very well. I did have a problem with Audrey telling her daughter all this stuff at such a young age. I understand it would have been too difficult to write her daughter a letter that someone else might discover, but honestly, why would her daughter even need to know that she might be related to the king? No one was acknowledging them, so what did it matter?

I also found it really sad that Audrey obsessed most of her early adult years over a man who really didn't love her, and then she ended up marrying him and wondered why her life didn't turn out better than it did.