Yay! New Website!

I'm so excited to have my own domain and a new website!  frontierblessings.com will be the place to go to learn about Essential Oils and how to use them, recipes, facts, giveaways, etc.

Thank you so much for joining me there!  This blog will be dedicated to Book Reviews (I have about a million to do!)  and updates on my life in general.

Things you can expect to find at frontierblessings.com:

• Essential Oil information
• Success Stories
• Do It Yourself Remedies & Recipes
• Food Recipes that incorporate Essential Oils
• Guest posts from time to time
• GIVEAWAYS
• Team News
• And lots more!

I've enjoyed blogging about Essential Oils here, but I've been working on getting my own domain for a while, and I'm so excited it's finally here!  I hope you'll join me over at frontierblessings.com!

Kimberly

Unbreakable Review

Nancy Mehl is a new author for me.  This book is actually the second book of her Road to Kingdom series.  I do not think it necessary to read the first book, although I probably will.

Hope Kauffman lives in the Mennonite town of Kingdom, Kansas.  Strange incidents of burning churches and outright attacks on different residents force her to start questioning all she has known and what she believes.

Along with all these strange church fires and attacks, Hope is trying to face the reality that she is engaged to marry one person, but finds herself really "in love" with another.  Jonathon Wiese is a very vocal, forward thinking man.  He helps Hope get back to Kingdom after a red truck runs she and her horse off the road.

Ebbie Miller is a leader of the church but very shy and quiet. He loves Hope and is looking forward to marrying her. He is very vocal about not retaliating against the people who are leading these attacks.

Hope must decide for herself what she believes and choose once and for all which man she really wants to spend the rest of her life with.

I found this book to be quite interesting.  The book is easy to read, believable, mysterious, and makes you think about what you would do in Hope's situation.

My Rating:  4.5 stars

NOTE: I received a FREE e-copy of this book from Bethany House publishers and Net Galley for review. A positive review is not required, only and honest one. The opinions and comments are my own.

Safe in His Arms - by Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble has become one of my new favorite authors. I've not read all of her books yet, but the ones I have read are great. She adds a lot of suspense, mystery, and life lessons.

Safe in His Arms is no exception. This is the second book in the "Under Texas Stars" series.

Margaret is the main character and she doesn't really fit in with all the other ladies in the town of Larson, Texas. She is taller than most women, and she's more at home on a horse than in a tea parlor. She has one good friend, Lucy.

Margaret is just sure that her father is going to pass the family ranch down to her when the time comes, but her father has other plans. He hires Daniel Cutler to be their foreman, but Margaret is determined they don't need one!

She hears in town that there are some bank robbers out and about. She determines, after hearing a private conversation, that Daniel is the bank robber. She swears that she will take him down!

Margaret just doesn't know that Daniel is a ranger working to catch the gang of robbers. Will she find out before it's too late? Can the two of them find true love? Will her father relent and hand down the ranch to her?

Find out the answers to these questions when you read this book :) Safe in His Arms (Under Texas Stars) is available to read on your Kindle, or as a hard copy.

My Rating: 5 stars

NOTE: I received a FREE e-copy of this book from Thomas Nelson publishers and Net Galley for review. A positive review is not required, only and honest one. The opinions and comments are my own.

My new hobby :)

I've always wanted to learn how to knit, but I don't have the patience to work with those silly needles, when there are so many other things that I can do quickly :)

When Mark & Laura were out year before last, she brought a knitting loom, and I thought it looked really easy. She made a scarf and a hat while they were here, and it really didn't take that long. I was really impressed, although I am impressed with pretty much anything Laura does cause she's so amazing :)

So, right before Christmas I decided to spend some money and by myself a small knitting loom from Michael's. I decided that I would make a scarf for James first, because he wouldn't complain if it didn't turn out just perfect. LOL!

I sat down and made my very first scarf in 2 1/2 hours! (Mind you, it was NOT perfect, and it wasn't very tight, and well...I could say a few other things about it!) James liked it and I thought I wouldn't mind doing this again.



Since then, I've gotten some round looms, and a sock loom (that I don't really like, but I've gotta try it with sock yard before I totally make my mind up about it). I have knitted several scarves, some hats, and a pair of sock and now working on another pair. It is quite fun and relaxing!



So when I'm not reading, I'm usually knitting :) Did I say how much more I enjoy the loom than those silly needles? And, it's really easy for children to do as well. (yep, I'm a big kid!) I really love all the different colors and options that are available. You can pretty much have a scarf in every color if you want, but it does get kind of expensive if you don't have any coupons available.

Oh, and another thing I found out! Joann Fabrics will take Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and Joann's coupons all in the same transaction! They all have to be used towards seperate items, but still...you can save tons!

ps. The pics here are NOT the first scarf I made and the little girl is Clara, one of our pastor's girls :)

Julie Klassen and The Tutor's Daughter

The Tutor's Daughter is a great book. I've read several of Julie Klassen's books and was not disappointed with this one.

Emma has grown up in a home full of boys, it seems. Her Mother passed away years ago, and her father tutors/teaches the young men of rich families. Emma has more formal education than most young ladies her age, and loves it that way.

Her dream is to travel the world, but her father forbids it, plus they don't have the money to do so. Her father's health is failing, and not many families are sending their sons to be tutored these days.

Emma decides to take matters in her own hands and writes a wealthy gentleman who she knows has two sons left at home. The first two have already been in her father's tutelage.

Sir Giles answers back. That letter changes her life! He wants Mr. Smallwood and Emma to come to his house and tutor!

Find out what The Tutor's Daughter encounters along the way!

My Rating: 5 Stars


NOTE: I received a FREE e-copy of this book for review from Bethany House Publishers and Net Galley. A positive response is not required, only an honest one. The comments and opinions are my own.

Shattered!!

Having never read a book written by Dani Pettrey, I wondered what style of writer she would be, whether I would be captivated by the end of the first two pages, how the characters would be portrayed, and if I would be wasting my time? I was completely happy with the answers to all of the above questions!

I have to say that I was totally engrossed in the book by the end of the first page, the characters were well developed, and I don’t regret reading this book at all. Ms. Pettrey has a phenomenal narrative/conversational style that is both suspenseful and colorful.

I did not read the first book of the series “Submerged” before reading this book, so I don’t think you’d have to read them in order, although it may make more sense in some aspects.

Piper and Landon Grainger go way back. Piper has been in love with Landon for a long time, and he with her, but each one thinks that the other wants nothing to do with them.

Piper’s younger brother, Reef, gets framed for the murder of his girlfriend. Piper determines that he is innocent and Landon has to quit his job as detective to help solve the crime.

Will Piper and Landon finally be able to put aside all the questions and pent up frustrations and find the love they both so desperately want? Will they find out who actually killed Ashley Clarke? Was it really Reef?

You will enjoy reading “Shattered;” Book 2 of the Alaskan Courage series written by Dani Pettrey!

My Rating: 5 stars

Note: I was given a free e-copy of this book for review by Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Company, and Net Galley. A positive review is not required, only and honest opinion. The comments and opinions are my own.

Cowboy at Heart

Having read several books by Lori Copeland before, I thought that maybe I'd enjoy this new book.

Cowboy at Heart is pretty much just another story set in an Amish community. It has basically the same plot as many other books about the Amish. I'm pretty sure this is part of a series, but it does not have to be read in order.

Jonas is a middle-aged man whose wife passed away. He is homesteading in Kansas and a big time rancher from Texas moves in and starts taking over Jonas' property and putting fence up where it doesn't belong.

Jonas doesn't want to retaliate because it's against his beliefs, but doesn't want to lose his property, either. His sons-in-law are not Amish, so they come to the rescue.

There's also a widow named Katie who is young and not really looking for another husband. When an English man with a bad past comes into the community to help rescue Jonas' land, Katie finds herself falling in love.

She has no desire to leave the Amish, so at the end, Jesse joins the Amish community and they love happily ever after....

Maybe I'm a little cynical, but in the real world, things don't always happen this way. I sometimes shy away from reading Amish based books because I lived near and Amish community and not many people were willing to live the plain, simple life that they live.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not against the Amish. I admire them for living so plain and simply, and I have several Amish and Mennonite friends. I just don't see many people these days wanting to leave the comfort and "things" that we have to join them.

Overall, I still find Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith's writing style a relaxing read. If you just want something light and fluffy that will take your mind off things for awhile, then by all means read this book :)

My Rating: 3.5 stars


NOTE: I was given a FREE e-copy of this book by NetGalley/Harvest House Publishers for review. They do not require a positive review, only and honest one. The comments and opinions are my own.

Books and More Books!

It's been a while since I posted and I'm going to try to do better, but with all these books to read, I don't know if that will happen :) Things are going pretty well here in our little corner of the world, and it SNOWED yesterday! That is a BIG plus, as we're in desperate need of moisture!

We now have four dogs (my dear husband is in love with the idea of hunting Mountain Lions, so is building his herd/flock/kennel of dogs :) We've added Chloe and Streak in the last month. Jill and Sky are enjoying having the added siblings, although they're a lot more clingy to me because they can't stand the idea of not being my favorites anymore :)

Lately, we've been having a lot of those cold, wintry days that make you want to curl up with a good cup of hot chocolate and a book. I must say that it has been most enjoyable! First on my list was the new book by Kristen Heitzmann. She is one of my absolute favorite authors these days!! If she wrote it, it is going to be good!

The Breath of Dawn is the third book in a series. The first book is Rush of Wings and the second is The Still of Night. If you have never read this series, I encourage you to do so! The stories are compelling and you can easily read the book in one day if you have the time :)

In The Breath of Dawn, Quinn Reilly is hiding from someone she testified against and sent to prison. She sells items that she finds at estate auctions on-line and tries to live as simply as possible.

Morgan Spencer and his two-year-old daughter, Livie are hiding out from real life. Morgan's wife passed away in a traffic accident and they have come to live with his brother and sister-in-law.

The story of how Quinn and Morgan find and help each other is captivating. The suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat.

It is definitely a must read! You do not have to read the first two books, but it does help to bring all the stories together.

My rating is: 5 stars


NOTE**I received a FREE copy of the book for review from Bethany House. A positive opinion is not required, only an honest one. The comments and opinions are my own.

The Conviction to Lead

Albert Mohler's new book "The Conviction to Lead" has 25 principles for leadership that matters. I have enjoyed reading it, but found it a little hard to get through in spots.

I like how it is based on a Scriptural foundation. It gives a clear Christian perspective on leadership and what makes a good leader. There are lots of secular books out there that will try to help you be a better leader, but not always do they change the way you look at real leadership.

I have underlined my book and marked places that I want to go back and look at again. This book will make you think about what makes you the leader you are, or the leader you want to be.

One of the quotes that I underlined is this:
"Leaders without emotional intelligence cannot lead effectively because they cannot connect with the people they are trying to lead. Leaders lacking ethical intelligence will lead their people into a catastrophe. But leaders without convictional intelligence will fail to lead faithfully, and that is a disaster for Christian leaders." -Albert Moehler, pg. 31

I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about effective leadership, or for those already in a leadership position.

My Rating: 4 stars

Note: I was given a free copy of this book for review by Bethany House Publishers. They do not require a positive review, only an honest one. The opinions and comments are my own.

Home in Drayton Valley

So, I just finished reading this book by Kim Vogel Sawyer. It's called "A Home in Drayton Valley."

I've read several other books by this author and have found them to be well written. This one is no different. It pulls you in to the story and if you're anything like me, you'll feel like you're one of the characters :)

If you like Christian Fiction at all, then I would recommend this book. Here's a little sneak peak into the book:

Tarsie lives in New York and works as a seamstress. She lives in a very run down house with room mates and is the oldest so ends up with most of the chores.

Mary & Joss are Tarsie's friends and have two children, Nathaniel and Emmy. They live in a very run down apartment, and Joss works at the docks. Joss drinks a lot, and Mary has to take in laundry to support herself and the children. She is very sick with cancer.

Tarsie finds a brochure about Drayton Valley, KS and talks Mary and Joss into going. Along the way, there is lots of adventure and Joss doesn't like Tarsie too well because he thinks she's too bossy :)

You'll need to read for yourself to find out exactly what happens... :) I found myself laughing and crying while reading this story. At times, I didn't like some of the characters, but found them mostly realistic.

My Rating: 4.5 stars



PS. I received a FREE copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers just for review. A positive review is not required, and the opinions and comments are my own.