You can be the casual conversationalist

You can be the funny one

The Calling
The Inn At Eagle Hill, Book Two
By Suzanne Woods Fisher
Publisher: Revell
Pub. Date: January 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0800720940
Pages: 336
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/stlG8
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/sfisher

Review:

With all the snow on the ground today, there is nothing better than drinking a cup of hot coffee and reading a book, or in my case writing a review for The Calling.

Similar to other books by the author, this story is set again in Stoney Bridge, but this time the main focus is on Bethany Schrock, who is spending the hot summer months living at the Sister's House, while she reflects on what she wants out of life, which has been a bit rocky. Her mother abandoned her, her father recently passed away and her brother is missing. Plus, she is also trying to get over her ex, Jake Hertzler

Her boring summer that includes cleaning the Sister's House, takes an interesting turn when she meets the newest guest at the Eagle Hill Inn (which is ran by Bethany's stepmother), Geena, who happens to be a Youth Minster, well until she was fired.

Buying a car can be a difficult process. There are so many different options; you may be tempted to put off buying anything until you have searched every lot, every model, and every option available. This, unfortunately, could take years. Instead, get a good idea of what you want and then go from there. You can decide on a price range, a type, a model, etc. If you have chosen the type of car, like a Mazda 2, your work is halfway done. Another decision you need to make is whether you are going to buy a new or used Mazda 2 in Kansas City. Here is some information that may help you decide.


When it comes to new cars, the quality is obvious. You are getting a brand-new car that has never been driven on the road, let alone had any accidents or problems running. You will be able to rest easy knowing that the car you get is going to be just what you wanted. However, you are going to pay for this peace of mind. New cars are considerably more expensive than used. If you have the extra money, this may be an option for you.

The world of pay per click marketing is challenging, and confusing for many people. You should hire a PPC management agency to help you effectively target your customers, and find the right people who are looking for your products. If you aren’t sure about outsourcing your PPC needs, here are five reasons why it is the best decision you will ever make.

Reason # 1: Saves Time and Money

Outsourcing your PPC needs will save you from a major headache. You won’t be pouring over several pages of keywords and bids to figure out what the best option is. You will be able to work with professionals with proven SEO and PPC strategies. They will be able to focus on managing the various campaigns, which can save you a lot of time. They won’t waste your money on keywords that do not work. Instead, they will focus on managing the bid process to save you money.

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Do you feel like you have been running the same campaigns for several months, but you aren’t getting any results? When you outsource your PPC needs, you will have fast, consistent results. Professionals understand the right keyword formatting to use, and they know what is beneficial for your brand.

Lalaloopsy: Friends Are Sew Special!
Studio: Nickelodeon
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Retail: $16.99
ASIN: B00GLPYVS0
Running Time: 88 minutes
Rating: Not Rated

Review:

Arriving on DVD today from Nickelodeon is the animated adventures series Lalaloopsy: Friends are Sew Special!, featuring four 22-minute episodes. As an added bonus, each DVD comes with a Sew Cute Lacing Kit.

The cute rag dolls first originated under in the name Bitty Buttons in 2010, shortly before changing the name to Lalaloopsy. After the toys became successful, a video game was released, quickly followed by several animated specials in the 2012 and early 2013. Then of course the animated series launched in March 2013.

Now you can take a trip to Lalaloopsy Land anytime you want to with this week's release of Lalaloopsy: Friends are Sew Special!

The four episodes on the single disc are:

Many of my readers already know that I like reading books with a historical setting, but I'm not very found of the WWII era of fiction novels. That being said, I only signed up to review Shadowed By Grace by Cara C. Putman because I liked the cover of the book. Though the author's name does sound familiar, I don't believe I have read any of her books before.

Before there were cell phones, laptop, computers and the internet, journalists and photographers had to put themselves in the actual war to get the firsthand scoop and photographs to send back to the US. Shadowed By Grace centers on on a American photographer, Rachel Justice, who takes a newspaper assignment, which takes her on the front lines of WWII.

During WWII, many of Italy's famous paintings and artifacts were either destroyed, stolen or hidden. A special group of soldiers called the Monument Men were assigned to find these lost treasures. Scott Lindstrom is one of these soldiers, but he has an extra task at hand there, he is assigned to escort Rachel Justice, as his teams advances north.

Many dangers await them on their journey, as Rachel continues her assignments and hopes she will find her long-lost father.

Escape Plan
Director: Mikael Hafstrom
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Retail: $29.95
ASIN: B00H1RMWYW
Running Time: 115 minutes
Rating: R

Review:

Before Expendables 3 hits theaters this summer, action-fans can sink their teeth in tomorrows Blu-ray and DVD release of last year's prison-action film, Escape Plan, starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Special features on the DVD include Audio Commentary with Director Mikael Hafstorm and Co-Writer Miles Chapman and "Executing the Plan: The Making of Escape Plan" Featurette.

Sylvester Stallone stars as ex-prosecutor, Ray Breslin, who co-owns a major security firm, in which his team helps him get inside prisons, which, as an inmate, he surveys all of the security cameras, the prison guard's routines and maps out a route to escape. Doing this is the only way his company can help the prisons keep the inmates from escaping.

Sylvester Stallone ("Ray Breslin") stars in Summit Entertainment's, a LIONSGATE company, ESCAPE PLAN. Photo: Steve Dietl

Ray, along with his business partner Lester Clark (played by Vincent D'Onofrio) are offered a multimillion dollar contract by a CIA operative to the test the security of a top-secret prison. The assignment sounds too good to be true and Ray soon finds out that he has been tricked by someone close to him.

Arnold Schwarzenegger ("Emil Rottmayer") stars in Summit Entertainment's, a LIONSGATE company, ESCAPE PLAN. Photo: Alan Markfield

A Miracle of Hope
The Amish Wonders Series
By Ruth Reid
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pub. Date: December 31, 2013
ISBN: 978-1401688295
Pages:  352
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/sABNg
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/rreid

Review:

Most of my blog readers know that I love reading Amish fiction, but there are so many authors in the genre, it is hard to keep up with all the new titles every month, so typically I only read the authors I have either previously read or have at least heard of. Author Ruth Reid wrote the Heaven on Earth series, which is an Amish supernatural book series (no vampires, werewolves - just angels). I enjoyed reading the three books in that series, so I quickly agreed to read A Miracle of Hope, book one in the Amish Wonders series, by the author.

The plot of A Miracle of Hope follows a similar clichéd plot found in many Christian novels (Love Comes Softly comes to mind), in which a man (mostly likely a widower and has at least one young child, which happens to be case in this tale) and a woman (most likely pregnant, which happens to be the case for this story) have an arranged marriage.

The mother-to-be is Lindie Wyse who ties-the-knot with widower Josiah Plank, who happens to be the father of a deaf eight-year-old daughter, Hannah. Like I said above, the marriage was arranged. Lindie was shunned by her community and her brother arranged a marriage for her to his best-friend, Josiah.

Josiah loved his late-wife dearly and doesn't believe he can fall in love again, let alone get remarried, but his daughter needs a mother figure, therefore, he agreed to marry Lindie. Of course, Lindie, agreed to the marriage, as she didn't have much a choice or anywhere else to go. Life throws the newly wedded couple several ups and downs, all of which only strengths their relationship and opens their hearts to possibly loving each other as a family.

Pages:  218
Genre: Historical fiction
Goodreads

Shaking Behind The Microphone
Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking
By Jill Ammon Vanderwood
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pub. Date: November 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-1490941219
Pages: 156

Review:

I don't read very many non-fiction titles, mostly because I'm too busy reading the fiction books stacked up on my desk, but when I saw Shaking Behind The Microphone: Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking was available to review, I became interesting in reading it.

As many of readers know, I do suffer from anxiety, which isn't quite as bad now, but it was pretty bad during my childhood. Of course with anxiety, there was noway I could speak in public settings. It was bad enough when I had to give an oral book report during class, but speaking in front of strangers wasn't ever going to happen. I did my best to avoid crowded situations, but there were a few times during a class event in high school where I had to speak in public and lets just say it didn't turn out very well.

The author, Jill Ammon Vanderwood, had the fear of speaking in public too, but she found ways to overcome this. She wrote the book to help everyone with the same problem be able to speak in public.