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Book Look Bloggers, book review, Rhe's Bookshelf

Rhe’s Bookshelf – Love Without End

January 27, 2015 No Comments

Summary

Chet and Kimberly have both failed when it comes to love. Will they risk their hearts to love again?
Chet Leonard’s life was forever changed when his seventeen year old son died and then, soon after, his wife walked out on their family. Over two years later, all he wants to do is hold onto his horse ranch and raise his remaining sons to be honorable men.

Kimberly Welch, widowed mother of Tara, a rebellious fifteen-year-old, has reached the end of her finances and nearly the end of her rope. She and Tara come to King’s Meadow to try to piece their lives back together again. Kimberly has no intention of become involved with the residents of this remote mountain community and certainly not with any man.

When 84-year-old Anna McKenna returns to King’s Meadow and to the Leonard ranch, she becomes an agent of change and healing for the two hurting families. With her help, Kimberly and Chet’s families at last discover a love without end.

Review

The book was a well-written life story, not necessarily one focused on romantic love between the two main characters. Two people barred by life circumstances, that threaten to drive them apart, when they are so clearly meant to be together. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I generally don’t read books where the main characters are not really in my same age bracket, or life stage. Both Chet and Kimberly have almost grown children. I also do not find myself to be a super fan of country western story lines. Its a fun, warm, country read from Ms. Hatcher, but I wouldn’t characterize it as a romance. There is much more in the story, and way more going on in the surrounding story line. It was a good book but not my cup of tea. If you are a fan of Robin Lee Hatcher, or novels with a country flair I suspect you will really love this book.

Rating

3 out of 5 stars

**this review is in partnership with BookLook Bloggers. I received a book in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I was not compensated in any other way. As always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.

You can purchase Love Without End (A King’s Meadow Romance) Here

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Best of Me, book review, Movie, Nicholas Sparks, Snark

Dear Nicholas Sparks….you suck BEST OF ME Review and SPOILERS!!

August 13, 2014 No Comments

**CAUTION THERE ARE SPOILERS, SO IF YOU DON’T WANT TO CONTINUE READING STOP!!!!**

I wouldn’t consider myself to be a glutton for punishment, but why oh why did I pick up Nicholas’ Sparks latest “soon to become a movie” book. Why oh Why!!!!?? *shakes head in hands* I’ll tell you why. It was an evil trick and you suck Nicholas Sparks!! Here’s the trick people

The second trick is even worse!!!

Although, to be fair I hadn’t seen Trick #2 when I went onto amazon and got the book. So there I was, innocent and sweet, reading what looked to be like a romantic love story. You know he lulled us into submission Safe Haven. I loved the book and the movie. It ended exactly how you wanted to end it; and it was almost as if a women had written it. But I should have known better. This is Nicholas Sparks we’re talking about. (and just for a fun fact – my 12 degrees of separation is that Nicholas Sparks went to high school with my mom’s best friend – my non-biological aunt) So I had faith; faith that the streak would continue and this would be a beautiful love story. Oh man, love that spans time…..nothing can break it, even growing up and moving on. But then……

**THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO STOP READING…BECAUSE I AM OUTING THE WHOLE THING MAN!!!**

So I started to read the book, and she was married. Married!! Freaking married! So anything she does with the love of her life is going to be an affair. What? Then, they try to make you hate her husband because he drinks; but there is so much more to the story than that. Then, out of nowhere her son gets in a horrendous car accident, has to go to the hospital, starts to get better, and then his heart takes a turn for the worse. And then it becomes like watching a horrible train wreck in slow motion. You know the kind where you can’t look away. I knew exactly what was going to happen. It all became clear, which either says a lot about me – that I am an amazing book reader and should be writing my own books – or it says that Mr. Sparks is running out of gusto. You shouldn’t be able to see the ending coming from a mile away, at least I don’t think so. Although I guess I should say you shouldn’t be able to see a horrible ending coming from a mile away. Seeing a happily ever coming from a mile away is somehow okay with me.

He dies, Dawson freaking dies because her son gets his heart. Seriously?? I mean come on people?!!! Oh, I was so mad!!! And I’m still mad…seriously I will never fall for one of his evil tricks again!!!! Fool me once, shame on me…fool me twice…shame on you!!

so, there you have it, A Walk To Remember was beautiful, despite the sadness. I loved The Notebook. You were lucky I found out about all the others before committing to reading them or going to see the movie. Then Safe Haven totally lulled me into complacency. Never again man!!! You Suck!!!

**this review was not sponsored by anyone, my thoughts and opinions are my own…including my Snark and Sarcasm. Don’t hate me!**

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Book Look Bloggers, book review, Edward Atkins, military, military monday, On Which We Serve, Rhe's Book Shelf, war, WWII

Rhe’s Bookshelf – A Military Monday Book Review

May 19, 2014 No Comments

Today’s #MilitaryMonday post is also a Rhe’s Bookshelf post. I am thrilled to be reviewing On Which We Serve, Part 1 – Where Life-Lessons Are Learned, by Edward Atkins. Edward Atkins grew up in New Jersey and went on to serve in the United States Navy in WWII. He continued his connection with the military throughout most of his life. This book is part of a trilogy of books about life on an Aircraft Carrier, as well as life in the MIlitary, during WWII.

Summary: The title, “On Which We Serve” is an anthology of values and virtues as derived from the activities taking place on the flight deck of a WWII fleet aircraft carrier as experienced by the author. This book consists of 355 full-page National Archive photographs, each of which has a half-page caption that seamlessly segues into a half-page discussion of life-lessons learned on that flight deck based on First Principles. These topics are such as responsibility, accountability, respect for others and self, earned self-esteem (those who have such will “never” do anything antisocial), empathy, trustworthiness, and similar values and virtues. The title also embraces the Navy motto: Honor (to see one’s duty), Commitment (to do one’s duty) and Courage (to fulfill one’s duty). This book is truly unique in that it is one of a kind for all time (first person) as well as being timeless.

What I Thought: As a military spouse and the granddaughter of both a Korean War Veteran and a WWII Veteran, books like this can be extremely thought provoking and emotional for me. They have the ability to transport me through time and try to imagine what it must have been like for those that served during this time. Things were so different back then, and to get an inside peak at what that must have been like from someone who was there is a priceless piece of history. These are truly life-lessons for all of us, and they should be passed on to our children and grandchildren. The author talks about the carrier at times, comparing himself at time to the carrier. It is clear he has a deep love, understanding and respect for not only the ship, but what he is doing on it. That comes through in his words clearly. At times it seems as though my grandfather is speaking to me – talking about hard work and doing the right thing. Things it sometimes seems as if our society has lost sight of; stopping to think about something other than themselves. Aside from being an extremely well documented history piece, it is clearly a deeply personal one.

I would recommend this book to anyone who particularly enjoys this time in our countries history, but servicemembers would do well to read such accounts. A kindred bond can be felt even decades later.

This book also contains amazing pictures that coincide with his story, and life on the ship. It’s really the pictures that move me the most in this book.

5 out of 5 stars – I truly love this book. Between the beautiful, yet deeply realistic picture of life on the ship and the beautiful photographs that further tell the story, it is a book that every household should have. The greatest generation, as they so fondly have been called, is an intrical part of our countries history, and one which is quickly leaving us. Holding on to stories and images like this is vital for going forward. This I believe whole-heartedly.

book review, finances, fitness, milspouse, Rhe's Bookshelf

Rhe’s Bookshelf – Lean Body, Fat Wallet

April 4, 2014 No Comments

Summary – What would you do if you finally lost all your excess weight or had energy to burn? How different would your life be if you were completely out of debt and in control of your finances? And what if you could do both at the same time with just a few simple and sustainable lifestyle changes?

Ellie Kay and Danna Demetre are life experts in two seemingly different fields—finance and fitness. Working together, they have made a remarkable discovery—the principles and habits that are good for your wallet are equally good for your body.

The simple and practical teaching in this “two for one” bargain of a book will help you put those principles and habits to work in your life and create a sustainable and satisfying lifestyle.

Review – You might look at this book think, “what the what?! How could these two things possibly work together in a book.” I sort of thought the same thing, but was intrigued enough to want to read it. Another thing that grabbed me was the fact that Ellie Kay is a military spouse, succeeding financially, getting out of debt, all on a military paycheck. If you ask many milspouses they will probably say finances are hard. There are a myriad of factors that play into this for sure – moving, difficulting getting jobs and uncertainty. And for women this means stress. I know for me this is true. Struggling with whether or not to get a job, is it worth it? Staying home with my children is really important to me. So, what do I do? Believe me finances and my journey in weight loss are probably some of the most stressful things in my life. And for the most part fiances has always been. Being scared to spend, struggling with the prospect of saving, buying a car, buying a house. Who knew they were so related.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that not only does it talk about both of these things, that they are related and that you can change it; but the book actually tells you how to do this. It does this with helpful tips and tricks that one can actually accomplish. These are things you, I mean we, can do. It’s not easy and it isn’t an overnight change. It takes dedication and commitment, but it can be done. This book can also be a pick me up, a recharge, when you need it. It’s also a book that you will probably find yourself passing along to your friends.

5 out 5 stars

**I received this book in partnership with Booksneeze/BookLook. I was not compensated for this post. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

book review, Rhe's Bookshelf, Tyndale Blogging Network, Tyndale Publishing

Rhe’s Bookshelf – No Greatness Without Goodness

February 17, 2014 No Comments

Summary

Randy Lewis bet his career that he could create an inclusive workplace at one of America’s biggest corporations where people with disabilities could not just succeed, but thrive. “No Greatness without Goodness” is the powerful story of a corporate executive who, after watching the world through the eyes of his own child with autism, Austin, realized that we all have a greater responsibility to make the world a better place for everyone, including those with disabilities.As the Senior Vice President of Walgreens, Randy Lewis has created thousands of full-time jobs for people with disabilities. “No Greatness without Goodness” offers a firsthand account of what it takes to lead with courage in order to change people’s lives for the better. Randy’s motto is “What’s the use of having power if you don’t use it to do good.” In this book, you’ll learn how to start working for good no matter where you are or how much power you hold.

Review

If you’re looking for an inspiration story, you will love this book. If you have someone with special needs in your life, you will love this book. There’s almost nothing else for me to say about this book. And I really love when I get a book like this because it really just says so much, while saying almost nothing. The inspirational story of a father and son, a large Company, and all the people in their lives and that become connected to them. It has real emotions that aren’t just fluff and fun, which is another thing I appreciate about it. I really encourage to pick up this book because I think not only will it be an enjoyable read, it will be an encouraging one as well.

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