Monday, May 30, 2011

To Win Her Heart by Karen Witemeyer.

Eden Spencer, left standing at the altar, lives in Spencer, Texas. She runs the local library out of her home and devotes her time to various charity activities. Levi Grant, having been released from prison for murdering a man, comes to Spencer as the town’s next blacksmith. Having introduced the main characters, the reader now begins a journey of discovery. How does Eden overcome her decision not to marry? How will she handle it when she finds out the man she falls in love with has a big secret that will shake her Christian moral stance? How does Levi overcome his past mistakes and come to the full realization that he has indeed been forgiven by Father God? The reader will follow Eden and Levi through the process of learning forgiveness, acceptance and eventually to acknowledging their love for each other. Of course, any good story has supporting characters who add suspense, jealousy, laughter and love.


I found it difficult to put this book down as I was drawn into the story. I wanted to know not only about Eden and Levi, but about Duncan and Chloe. What role does the sheriff, Conrad Pratt, play in everyone’s lives? Why does he insist that Eden is to be his bride? When Eden’s father comes to visit her, what will he say about Levi, his past and his love for Eden? As the reader will soon come to realize, Karen Witemeyer based her story on the Prodigal Son parable from scripture. To quote the author: The underlying theme of this book is one of forgiveness and of learning to view others through God’s lens instead of our own. I recommend To Win Her Heart to anyone who enjoys Christian fiction.

I received this book to review for free from Bethany House.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Love Food & Live Well by Chantel Hobbs

It would be hard to call Love Food & Live Well a diet book, but that is the underlying theme. She addresses many of the things we have been told about dieting and how to diet. For the first time I read a clear explanation about carbs, protein and fat in the foods I eat and their function in my diet.  For that alone, I recommend this book.

But let’s not stop there. Chantel tells about her weight struggle and the things that she learned when it came to losing weight. She encourages the reader to look at why they eat, what they eat and how they can make changes while still enjoying that chocolate. Yes, you can love food and lose those extra pounds. Exercise and its importance are talked about, but Chantel doesn’t stop there. She shows exercises that we all can do using a stability ball.

She introduces us to the 80:20 rule. Choose foods with calories that have solid nutritional value 80% of the time. The other 20% is for those special foods that you really like, but couldn’t enjoy of many of the diets that are out there. If you know you are going to a party at the end of the week, then you eat out of the 80% for the first part of the week.

A book well worth reading if you are having trouble losing weight, need to lose some or maybe just want to help someone else with a weight problem. Not a typical diet book, Love Food & Live Well is a book of help and encouragement without overloading the reader with a lifestyle that many cannot follow.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.