"It Had to Be You" Blog Tour

About the book: A Christensen Family Novel.

Eden Christiansen never imagined her role as her younger brother Owen's cheerleader would keep her on the sidelines of her own life. Sure, it feels good to be needed, but looking after the reckless NHL rookie leaves little time for Eden to focus on her own career. She dreamed of making a name for herself as a reporter but is stuck writing obits---and starting to fear she doesn't have the chops to land a major story. If only someone would step up to mentor Owen . . . but she knows better than to expect help from team veteran and bad-boy enforcer Jace Jacobsen.

Jace has built his career on the infamous reputation of his aggressive behavior---on and off the ice. Now at a crossroads about his future in hockey, that reputation has him trapped. And the guilt-trip he's getting from Eden Christiansen isn't making things any easier. But when Owen's carelessness leads to a career-threatening injury and Eden stumbles upon a story that could be her big break, she and Jace are thrown together . . . and begin to wonder if they belong on the same team after all.

Learn more and purchase a copy at Susan's website.

 

 

About the Author: Susan May Warren is the bestselling, RITA Award-winning author of more than forty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. She served with her husband and four children as a missionary in Russia for eight years before she and her family returned home to the States. She now writes full-time as her husband runs a lodge on Lake Superior in northern Minnesota, where many of her books are set. She and her family enjoy hiking, canoeing, and being involved in their local church. Several of her critically acclaimed novels have been ECPA and CBA bestsellers, were chosen as Top Picks by Romantic Times, and have won the RWA's Inspirational Reader's Choice contest and the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year award. Five of her books have been Christy Award finalists. In addition to her writing, Susan loves to teach and speak at women's events about God's amazing grace in our lives. She also runs a writing community for authors. Visit MyBookTherapy.com to learn more.

Learn more about Susan at: http://www.susanmaywarren.com

 

 

 

My Take:

 

I’m not a hockey fan, but any time a book incorporates sports in some way, it’s usually a good thing.

 

That was definitely true for It Had to Be You. The hockey life seemed to be realistic, which added another level to the novel overall.

 

As for the romance between Eden and Jace, the two spend a lot of time misunderstanding each other and, therefore, not liking each other. I found myself wanting them to get together more quickly. I enjoyed the romance overall, but I would have enjoyed it a lot more if the circumstances surrounding their romance was filled with something other than misunderstandings and assumptions.

 

The spiritual aspect of this novel comes across clearly and, true to Susan May Warren fashion, is seamlessly woven throughout. There is a lot of spiritual talk and thinking, but it is realistic and has so much depth. There are some pretty heavy circumstances that come into play in this novel, and at times I had to put the book down and walk away for a bit or skim over a section so that I didn’t get too wrapped up in the emotion of a fiction novel. (I read for entertainment, not heart wrenching emotion). But I will say that many characters in this book experience tremendous growth over the course of the novel, and that is always a plus.

 

The Christiansen family is such a fun and engaging family to read about, and the setting of Deep Haven, Minnesota, is so enjoyable. This novel gets into the differences of growing up with many siblings versus being an only child. I’ll not get on my only child soapbox here again – I will just say that most of the family dynamics that were related in this novel seemed realistic.

 

The only thing I didn’t like about the setting of the novel this time was the descriptions of snow and such. The Midwest has had such a snowy winter this year (my area broke the all-time snow accumulation record this winter) that I have just about had it with the snow and cold. It was not as enjoyable this time reading about the snow. Usually it doesn’t bother me, but this year I have had enough! I am ready for warm weather! Of course, this won’t affect my overall opinion of the book. I’m sure if I read it again during the summer months, I would enjoy the snowy descriptions once more! 

 

If you’ve enjoyed other Deep Haven novels by Susan May Warren, then you will enjoy this one as well.

 

I will give It Had to Be You … 3 BookWorms.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read what other reviewers are saying here: http://litfusegroup.com/author/swarren

 

 

 

Susan May Warren is celebrating the release of her newest Christiansen Family novel, It Had To Be You, with a $100 Visa cash card giveaway and offering readers a free book club kit.

  One winner will receive:

• $100 Visa cash card
• Take a Chance on Me and It Had to Be You by Susan May Warren

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 29th. Winner will be announced April 1st on Susan's blog. Also, visit her website to learn more about the It Had To Be You backstory and Susan's free book club kit.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by Susan's blog on April 1st to see if you won.

 

 

 

 

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Tyndale Publishers through Litfuse Publicity. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

 



"Balanced" Blog Tour

Balanced: Finding Center as a Work-at-Home Mom 

How can a work-at-home mom raise kids, juggle a career and take care of family responsibilities with only 24-hour days?

Working at home while raising kids and juggling a career and family responsibilities is no easy feat. Author and homeschooling mom Tricia Goyer shares her tips for finding balance among all your many hats as a mom. Balancing is a process and a journey, one that Tricia herself has yet to perfect. But between writing more than forty books, raising and homeschooling six kids, being a wife, and being active in her community, she has amassed valuable tips she shares in “Balanced.”

The book includes tips on:

—how to create focus themes for your family
—how to prioritize your schedule
—how to utilize your job so it also benefits your kids
—how to keep yourself out of the comparison game
—how to make working at home work for you
—and much more!

 

 

Purchase a copy, get a free downloadable workbook, and learn more at Tricia’s website - www.TriciaGoyer.com

{More About Tricia Goyer}

USA Today best-selling author Tricia Goyer is the author of over 35 books, including the three-book Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series and “Lead Your Family Like Jesus,” (co-written with Ken Blanchard). She has written over 500 articles for national publications and blogs for high traffic sites like TheBetterMom.com and MomLifeToday.com. She is the host of Living Inspired, a weekly radio show. Tricia and family live in Little Rock, Arkansas. They have six children. You can find out more about Tricia at www.TriciaGoyer.com.




My Take:

I am not a writer by any stretch of the imagination. The closest I get is doing book reviews here on my blog. My dad always says that I'm a good writer, but I just never really enjoyed it enough to think about making any sort of career out of it.

That being said, I really do admire writers. I obviously love to read, and I also realize that writing novels is a difficult, all-consuming career that can be both rewarding and frustrating. So, I have always had great respect for authors.

Even though I am not an author, I am a stay-at-home mom who also does some work from home, so Tricia Goyer's book Balanced related to me in a way that no book ever has before - it spoke directly to a stay-at-home and work-at-home mom like me. She does relate most to writing, but it also speaks to other types of work-at-home jobs.

Throughout the book Tricia talks about balance (hence the name), but she also goes much deeper than that. The book talks not only of juggling every aspect of life but also of setting priorities and using those priorities and goals to evaluate how to and what to keep juggling in the future.

My husband and I have spent the last year seriously doing this with every opportunity that comes to us. We ask ourselves how it lines up with what God would have us do and according to our goals and priorities. It really has made our lives so much more stress-free and actually more wide-open for opportunities to serve those around us.

I think this was what I took away most from Tricia's new book - not only to have balance in your life but to have goals that focus first on Christ.

Balanced is a great book for work-at-home parents or anyone who needs a little bit of direction on setting goals that are realistic and God-honoring.

I will give Balanced ... 4 BookWorms.

Take the Balanced challenge!

Visit this page: http://www.triciagoyer.com/join-the-balanced-challenge/. and take part in the challenge, too!






Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from GoyerInk through Litfuse Publicity. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
 

"A Dad's Prayers for His Daughter" Blog Tour

From the moment your little girl was born, you knew you were going to be doing a lot of praying. But you may wonder, What exactly should I be praying for?
Now the authors of 88 Great Daddy-Daughter Dates show you how to pray for every area of your daughter's life. Rob and Joanna Teigen give you a strong foundation to build a lifelong habit of prayer for your daughter with a collection of specific prayers you can use to get started right now. They include engaging stories from well-known authors like Joe Stowell, Bill Farrel, Ted Cunningham, Jim Samra, and others. And they explain a bit more of what girls go through growing up, including stress, purity issues, social pressure, modesty challenges, spiritual growth, and more.

Remember: just because you don't always understand your daughter doesn't mean that God doesn't! Start asking for his guidance, protection, and blessings today.

Find out more and purchase a copy here.




About the Authors: Rob Teigen has been a publishing professional for more than fifteen years and is the author of three joke books, including Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids (under the pseudonym Rob Elliott). He and his wife, Joanna Teigen, are the parents of a teenage son and three younger daughters. They are the authors of 88 Great Daddy-Daughter Dates and live in West Michigan.

Learn more at www.strongerdads.com.



My Husband's Take:
 
I have a 5-year-old daughter.  She is my only child and I pray for her often.  However, as much as I do pray for her and worry about her future, honestly, sometimes I feel like I am completely unprepared for what is coming.  I don’t even know where to begin.  I was never a girl, so I don’t know what kinds of problems she is going to run into during her childhood and teen years.  I only know the process from a boy’s perspective, and that alone is enough for me to be convinced that the best thing for her is to lock her in the house until she is 35. 

In reality, I realize that might not be the best way to go, so I look for advice from other sources.  That is why I was very interested to read A Dad's Prayers for His Daughter.

I must say that this book was not entirely what I expected.  My only real problem with the book was the format.  Now, to be totally fair, it says right there in the title that this is a book of prayers.  And, that is mostly what this book is -- a collection of prayers.  Personally, I was hoping for more of an explanation of what to pray about rather than a specific prayer.  I don’t like to use other people’s prayers as my own.  When I pray, I am talking to God and want to use my words and my thoughts to do so.  I was able to read the prayers in this book, though, and get the main idea.  I then was able to form my own prayers.  It just took a bit more work to do it that way as opposed to just getting the information.

Everything else about the book was great.  I liked that each chapter was a prayer about a specific topic and that each chapter began with Scripture.  It allows each dad to look at the verses and meditate on them.  In fact, the book encourages you do look up the verses and read the passages.  That was great advice.  The topics were also very helpful.  It is good to have a heads up about things that my daughter will be going through.  And, it is very good for me to be going to God about these things now, rather than after they come up.  This allows me to ask for guidance and protection for her and for me and my wife as we help her grow in life and in Christ.

For anyone out there with baby girls (no matter what age they might be), I would recommend this book.  It might not be the style you are used to or looking for, but the information is excellent.  And, any extra motivation we can get to pray for our girls is always most welcome.

I will give A Dad's Prayers for His Daughter ... 4 BookWorms.

 




A Dad's Prayers for His Daughter
by Rob Teigen & Joanna Teigen
Revell Publishers
Non-fiction
Publication date: March 4, 2014






Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."