It Had To Be You  
A Christiansen Family novel, book two
By Susan May Warren
Publisher: Tyndale
Pub. Date: January 17, 2014
ASIN: B00E1O6UT6
Pages: 480
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/swarren
Buy Link: Paperback

Review:


As most of my blog readers already know, I prefer historical romances over most contemporary romances, but I signed up to review It Had To Be You because the cover reminded of the romance book jackets from the 80s. Plus, I'm already fan of Susan May Warren's novels.

It Had To Be You centers on Eden Christiansen, who has put a hold on her dreams to help her younger brother, Owen, get his life on track. She would rather be focusing on her writing career, but she is stuck writing obituaries. Plus, she gets sidetracked every time a family member or friend needs her help. In this case, Owen doesn't even want her help, which makes the whole situation even more stressful for Eden.

Owen is an NHL rookie and if he doesn't get the correct guidance, his life will easily run off course in a hurry. Eden steps in, less like a sister and more like a surrogate mother, when she approaches the hockey star enforcer, Jace Jacobsen, who acts tough on and off the ice. Asking this hothead to help her brother is not going to be harder than what she thought it would be.

Wildwood Creek
Moses Lake series, book 4
By Lisa Wingate
Publisher: Bethany House
Pub. Date: February 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-0764208249
Pages: 384

Review:

There are many writers in the Christian market today and, sadly, many of them don't standout of the crowd for me. If I don't recall the author's name, then the book probably didn't leave a lasting effect on me. However, I do recall reading "Never Say Never" by Lisa Wingate when I first started blogging. Though I haven't read very many of her other titles, her name stood out for me when I decided to sign up to review the title, Wildwood Creek, courtesy of Bethany House.

Wildwood Creek centers on two women, Allie Kirkland and Bonnie Rose, from two different times. Allie is a modern day woman who takes a production assistant job on a docudrama set near Moses Lake, Texas. Bonnie Rose is an Irish schoolteacher back in the year 1861.

Allie has been kinda lost. Her still mourns for her late father. Her relationship with her mother, stepfather and her step-siblings is estranged. Her father was a director and she finally has a chance to follow in his footsteps when she takes a job working on a docudrama.

She multitasks by working in the costume department and playing the part of Bonnie Rose. The docudrama is about what happened at Wildwood Creek when the townspeople mysteriously disappeared in 1861. During the production, Allie begins researching the real-life events that occurred in the town, but there is danger just around the corner for her.

Robert Ludlum's The Janson Option
By Paul Garrison
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pub. Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-0446564489
Pages: 368

Review:

Author Robert Ludlum died over a decade, but stories based on his characters and ideas are still being published; written by other authors; similar to the ghostwritten V.C. Andrews’s paperbacks or the recent continuation of Robert P. Parker's book series. Last week, Grand Central Publishing released the third installment in the Janson series, titled The Janson Option.

The first book in the series, The Janson Directive, was published posthumous, a year after the author's death. Author Paul Garrison stepped into Ludlum's shoes to pen the sequel, The Janson Command, in 2012 and returned to write the third installment.

The Janson Option centers on ex-Navy Seal and former member of the U.S. government covert agency, Consular Operations, who now spends his time as a corporate security consultant. This time around Janson is hired by the president of the petroleum division of American Synergy Corp., Kingsman Helms, to help rescue his wife, Allegra Helms.

Allegra is a 30-year-old Italian countess, whose last known whereabouts was aboard the yacht Tarantula when it was hijacked by the Somali pirate Maxammed and his goons in the Indian Ocean. This sort of rescue mission would typically be easy for Janson and his partner, Jessica Kincaid, but they encounter several twists and turns around every corner.

I'm barely awake, as I'm patiently waiting for my coffee to finish brewing, while my bed fittings are being washed in the washing machine, so it is a typical Monday morning. I fully agree with Garfield when he said, "I Hate Mondays."

It seems nothing was on television over the weekend except of the overblown coverage of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. For me there is less actually news and more wild conspiracies. At least The Walking Dead was new last night, though the season finale is next week. That leaves only Games of Thrones on Sundays, which starts up again next month. Luckily, I did receive the Beetlejuice: Seasons Two & Three DVD Saturday, but I only got around to watching one episode.

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Kisha!

 

What is your favorite weekly meme?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

I don't have time to participate in weekly memes anymore, except for hosting the Book Blogger Hop, so I don't have any favorites.

Saving Mr. Banks
Director: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: March 18, 2014
Retail: $36.99
ASIN: B00HT944D4
Running Time: 125 minutes
Rating: PG-13

Review:

Arriving on Blu-ray this past week is the critically acclaimed Disney film Saving Mr. Banks, starring Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney. Special features includes The Walt Disney Studios: From Poppins To The Present, "Let's Go Fly A Kite" and deleted scenes. The film is also available on DVD and Digital HD.

The 1964 musical, Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Almost everyone knows the tale of the nanny Mary Poppins flying down on her umbrella to babysit the Banks children. The film, along with P.L. Travers book series of the same name, has been entertaining kids for generations, but some people may not know the struggles that went into making the film.

Saving Mr. Banks is based on true events involving the creation of Mary Poppins and the tension between Walt Disney and P.L. Travers. Walt had made a promise to his daughter to make a film version of Mary Poppins, but it took twenty-years to acquire the rights.

P.L. Travers has never been impressed with anything Disney has ever created and is very skeptically on Disney's version of Mary Poppins; therefore, she travels from England to Los Angeles, where she collaborates with the Mary Poppins creative team at the Walt Disney Studio.

A Sky Without Stars
Quilts of Love, Book 15
By Linda S. Clare
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Pub. Date: February 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1426752797
Pages: 272
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/a-sky-without-stars-linda-clare
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Last year, I happen to stumble across the Quilts of Love series from Abingdon Press. Though I don't know how to quilt, I have several family members that do, so I do respect the hobby and is one of the reasons why I signed up to review the newest book in the series, A Sky Without Stars, written by Linda S. Clare.

Set in 1951, the fifteenth installment centers on a Lakota woman, Frankie Chasing Bear, who finds herself raising her son, Harold, alone after husband is suddenly killed. To honor their heritage, she is trying to pass down the Lakota ways to her son, but it is difficult for her to do with her son uninterested in his past.

Lakota decides the only way to help her son respect their ancestors is to make a Lakota Star-pattern quilt, something that can be passed down to him one day and become a reminder of his heritage.