Mailbox Monday

Many thanks to Marcia at The Printed Page for hosting Mailbox Monday every week!

It is so much fun to see what everyone is getting in the mail.

Thanks for taking the time to visit ~ I just love hearing from you! Please let me know if you have read any of these books - I'd love to hear how you liked them!! :)

Here are the books that came into my house last week:

An Amish Christmas: A Choice to Forgive/A Miracle for Miriam/One Child (Inspirational Amish Christmas Romance Collection) by Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller and Barbara Cameron ~ Fiction / Christian / Romance ~ Received courtesy of the Amazon Vine review program

From the back Cover: December in Paradise. A time of hope, redemption, and new life.

A Choice To Forgive by Beth Wiseman.
After Daniel disappeared that long-ago Christmas Eve, Lydia built a life with his brother. But now she's a widow and Daniel has reappeared, asking for forgiveness. But can she go back to her normal life with her long-lost love as her neighbor?

A Miracle for Miriam by Kathleen Fuller.
Seth is no longer the arrogant young man who shattered Miriam's confidence and broke her heart. But can he convince "plain" Miriam that she is truly beautiful to him?

One Child by Barbara Cameron.
The birth of one child forever changed the world two thousand years ago. On a snowy Christmas night in Lancaster County, another child changes the world for two very different couples.

Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman's Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker ARC by Gesine Bullock-Prado ~ Autobiography / Personal Memoir ~ Received courtesy of the Amazon Vine review program

From the back cover: A former Hollywood insider trades the Hollywood Hills for Green Acres—and lives to tell about it in this hilarious, poignant treat of a memoir.

As head of her celebrity sister’s production company, Gesine Bullock-Prado had a closet full of designer clothes and the ear of all the influential studio heads, but she was miserable. The only solace she found was in her secret hobby: baking. With every sugary, buttery confection to emerge from her oven, Gesine took one step away from her glittery, empty existence—and one step closer to her true destiny. Before long, she and her husband left the trappings of their Hollywood lifestyle behind, ending up in Vermont, where they started the gem known as Gesine Confectionary. And they never looked back. Confections of a Closet Master Baker follows Gesine's journey from sugar-obsessed child to miserable, awkward Hollywood insider to reluctant master baker. Chock-full of eccentric characters, beautifully detailed descriptions of her baking process, ceaselessly funny renditions of Hollywood nonsense, and recipes, the ingredients of her story will appeal to anyone who has ever considered leaving the life they know and completely starting over.

Emmy's Equal (Texas Fortunes, Book 3) by Marcia Gruver ~ Fiction / Christian / Romance ~ Courtesy of the publisher for an upcoming WildCard Tour

From the Publisher: Get ready for a suspenseful romantic adventure deep in the heart of Texas. Emmy Dane doesn’t want to give up her petticoats and frills for boots and spurs when her family decides to take up ranching in South Texas. Diego Marcelo’s mother tells him God will soon deliver him from his loneliness—but he assures her he has no need of deliverance . . .that is, until Emmy disrupts the entire way of life at the ranch. Can Diego put his jealousy aside before time runs out? And will Emmy admit she’s found her match in the stubborn foreman?

Fierce Style: How to Be Your Most Fabulous Self by Christian Siriano ~ Non-Fiction / Fashion / Beauty & Fashion ~ Courtesy of the publisher for review

In 2008, Christian Siriano made headlines as the youngest designer to win the hit reality series Project Runway. But the now twenty-three-year-old is bigger than a TV celebrity. From his prodigious fashion talent to his one-of-a-kind personality, Christian is the embodiment of fierce style.

Now in his first book, he helps readers discover how to look, feel, and act fierce in everyday life. With tips from some of fashion and Hollywood's biggest names -including Victoria Beckham, Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, and Vanessa Williams -- along with gorgeous original sketches by Christian, never-before-heard stories, and behind-the-scenes photos, he tells his journey of developing his own fashion sense and overcoming obstacles to success.

Giving advice on creating personal style, sharing tips on building self-confidence, and revealing his own list of fashion dos and don'ts, Christian shows how to use one's unique strengths to get ahead - and go from tickity-tack to totally flawless.

The Jewel of His Heart (Hearts of the West, Book 2) by Maggie Brendan ~ Fiction / Historical Romance ~ Courtesy of the publisher for review

Back Cover: Their future is as wide open as the Montana sky

Juliana Brady is alone in an 1890s Montana mining town, with few prospects for making a living. But she is determined not to be dependent on the charity of others.

Josh McBride is trying to scrape up a living from his sheep herd while he builds his ranch. But when he discovers some rare stones on his property, he's tempted by the prospect of fast money.

When their paths cross, Juliana and Josh must make a choice--the world's riches and promises, or the eternal value of love.

Legend of the White Wolf ARC by Terry Spear ~ Fiction / Romance / Paranormal Romance ~ Courtesy of the publisher for review

From Amazon: In this fourth in Spear's series, Private Eye Cameron MacPherson and Faith O'Mallery are both on quests that lead them into the world of magical wolves…

Cameron arrives in the Canadian Arctic to search for his partners in his P.I. business who are late returning from a hunting trip. Faith is there to discover what her father had seen in the same area years earlier that had made him lose touch with reality—man-wolves, he called them.

The two tumble into an icy world of enemies bent on destroying the lupus garou kind. As they turn into lupus garou themselves, and bond with the pack that only they can rescue from destruction, Cameron and Faith find their soul mates in each other.

The Love Revolution by Joyce Meyer ~ Non-Fiction / Christian Living / Inspiration ~ Courtesy of the publisher for review

From the publisher: Joyce Meyer is not satisfied with the status quo. She believes that we each need to become a revolutionary and practice love every day. And if Joyce has her way, the revolution will spread - person by person, house by house, town by town, until the old culture of selfishness and greed gives way to a new culture of concern for others.

The book is a revolutionaries' manual, a hands-on primer for bringing the Golden Rule to life in the twenty-first century. Meyer starts out by giving some stunning statistics. Right now...210,000 children will die this week because of poverty; 640 million children do not have adequate shelter; every day, 3,000 children are abducted into the sex-trafficking industry; every day, 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes. She goes on to say that although crisis is global, the solution is local. We can't solve the world's problems, but that isn't a reason to remain idle.

LOVE REVOLUTION focuses on personal behavior on the local scale. It's not just a call to action; it is a call to being: being the person who goes out of your way to encourage someone who's out of hope; being the one who smiles at a stranger; being the one who is willing to do something for nothing. The paradox: when we do something for nothing, what we often get is something far greater.

Mr. Darcy's Great Escape: Pride and Prejudice Continues by Marsha Altman ~ Fiction ~ Courtesy of the publisher for review

From Amazon: Hilarious and action-packed, this installment brings the Darcy and Bingley families to the year 1812 and the intrigues of the Napoleonic Wars. Darcy and Dr. Maddox go in search of Darcy's missing half-brother and land in a medieval prison cell.

Much to his dismay, Charles Bingley is left to hold the fort at Pemberley while his sister Caroline, Elizabeth, and Col. Fitzwilliam traverse Europe on a daring rescue. Meanwhile, Lady Catherine de Bourgh kicks up a truly shocking scandal.

One never knows what might happen next between the estates of Rosings and Pemberley.

Permission Slips: Every Woman's Guide to Giving Herself a Break by Sherri Shepherd ~ Non-Fiction / Autobiography / Memoir ~ Courtesy of the publisher for review

From Amazon: Covering topics such as "It's Jesus or Jail,""Marriage, the Hard Way,""Children: The Gift You Can't Give Back," and "All the Things I Don't Know...And All the Things I Definitely Do," stand-up comedienne, actress, and ABC's The View co-host Sherri Shepherd comically chronicles her struggles to keep up with the many roles-professional, wife, mother, daughter, and friend-that women must play in today's world. Sherri urges women to pursue their most important dreams and to never give up, but also let's readers know that it's okay to give themselves "permission slips" when things don't always work out the way they want them to. As her many fans know, Sherri is never hesitant to speak from the heart, and her bubbly personality shines through in this delightful autobiography.

The Power of Respect: Benefit from the Most Forgotten Element of Success by Deborah Norville ~ Non-Fiction / Self-Help / Personal Growth ~ Courtesy of the publisher and MediaWorkshop Nashville (publicist) for review

From Amazon: There is power in respect. And it comes with multiple benefits.

In business:
-Higher sales
-Lower employee turnover
-Less exposure to lawsuits

At home:
-A stronger marriage
-Healthier family dynamics
-More polite children

In your personal life:
-More self-respect and confidence
-Closer friendships
-Higher standing in the community

Respect, a lost value in our world today, is the latest subject of research for Inside Edition anchor and best-selling author Deborah Norville. Citing scientific studies and using stories based on personal interviews, Norville makes a compelling case for the Power of Respect-the simple act of treating people as though they really matter.

In The Power of Respect Norville details the specific dollar savings in business and dramatic improvements in student test scores that are directly attributable to respect. She says, "Now that I've seen the research done by some of the greatest minds in the field, I am stunned to see the impact of being respected and giving respect. I am also mystified. Why wouldn't someone want to put it to work?"

Respect tips, sprinkled throughout the text, and Respect Reminders, at the end of each chapter, add to the clarity of the message and help reinforce the personal benefits. Start practicing this most overlooked ingredient of success and find out what it means for you!

The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship by Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel ~ Fiction ~ Courtesy of FSB Associates for review

From Amazon: Lilly and Val are lifelong friends, united as much by their differences as by their similarities. Lilly, dramatic and confident, lives in the shadow of her beautiful, wayward mother and craves the attention of her distant, disapproving father. Val, shy and idealistic—and surprisingly ambitious—struggles with her desire to break free from her demanding housebound mother and a father whose dreams never seem to come true.

In childhood, “LillyPad” and “Valpal” vow to form an exclusive two-person club. Throughout the decades they write intimate letters in which they share hopes, fears, deepest secrets—and recipes, from Lilly’s “Lovelorn Lasagna” to Valerie’s “Forgiveness Tapenade.” Readers can cook along as the girls travel through time, facing the challenges of independence; the joys and heartbreaks of first love; and the emotional complexities of family relationships, identity, mortality, and goals deferred.

But no matter what different paths they take or what misunderstandings threaten to break them apart, Lilly and Val always find their way back together through their Recipe Club . . . until the fateful day when an act of kindness becomes an unforgivable betrayal.

Now, decades later, while trying to recapture the trust they’ve lost, Lilly and Val reunite once more—only to uncover a shocking secret. Will it destroy their friendship, or bring them ever closer?

Simon's Cat: In His Very Own Book by Simon Tofield ~ Fiction / Humor ~ Courtesy of the publisher for review and giveaway

From Amazon: Simon Tofield's animations have taken YouTube by storm. Now, the feline Internet phenomenon makes his way onto the page in this first-ever book based on the popular animated series. SIMON'S CAT depicts and exaggerates the hilarious relationship between a man and his cat. The daily escapades of this adorable pet, which always involve demanding more food, and his exasperated but doting owner come to life through Tofield's charming and hilarious illustrations.

What was in your mailbox last week??

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